Somewhere Between Living and Loving
by Larka's Blessing
Summary: Draco needs to control his own life and to get away from his father's control. What will happen when he goes to the one person he knows could help him? Will he? And what will they discover about each other? H/D with mpreg and song lyrics. AU with OoC Draco and Harry
1. Chapter 1

To love and lost and love again, takes more than just the desire, but also the courage to take the first step again.  
-Jeanne Goh

A/N Ok, I have no idea where this idea came from, but I had to come from somewhere right? I actually found the quote after I was fairly far into the story, so it's not from there. I am fairly happy with how this has been going. I have written most of the story already, and I'm at a bit of a tough spot. However, I am trying to work though my writer's block and still write the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I only own my ideas and the character Gabe so far. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and the various publishers and movie contracts. I also don't own the songs used in this story. They are Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney and I Do (Cherish You) by Mark Wills. I love both of these songs, and I highly recommend listening to them while reading those parts!

Warnings: This is slash. Guy/guy relationships. Don't like? I have one simple answer for that. Don't read. See? Simple!

Still here? Good! Please review and tell me what you think!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I am sick and tired of living in my father's shadow. I need to get out from underneath my father's thumb, and I know only one person who can make that happen.

Potter.

It is time for Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune, ex-Death Eater, prat, and arrogant Slytherin to grovel for help from the one person I terrorized for years on end. This wasn't going to be easy.

I sighed and apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

"Can I help you?"

"I need to talk to Auror Potter."

"Head Auror."

"What?"

"Mr. Potter now leads the Aurors. He was promoted two weeks ago."

"He's eighteen!"

"Yes, that's right. He is the youngest Head Auror. Now sir, may I ask your name?"

"Drake Malloy."

"Please remove your hood."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"Why not, sir? I must know that you have no weapons."

I held out my arms. "You may check me magically. I mean no harm."

"Very well." The secretary waved her wand, and I felt a tingling go down my body. "You are clear. I will contact Head Auror Potter and have him meet you in Room number 3. "

"Thank you." As I walked away, I took a deep breath, preparing to go through the hardest experience in my life.

Five minutes later, Potter walked in, his wand drawn. I kept my eyes trained on the ground, as a sign of submission and of respect. "My secretary said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do I know you? She said your name was Drake Malloy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Will you please look at me? I don't like talking to someone so downtrodden, although your humility is quite refreshing around here."

Making sure my hood was kept in place, I looked up. Potter looked me in the eyes, and his widened. "Malfoy!"

Of course he would recognize my eyes. "Potter, I need your help."

"Why do you want my help all the sudden? I never liked you, and you always hated me. Why me?"

"Potter, even my name suggests I am evil. I am determined to change that, I need to change that. I need your help."

"You terrorize me for years both during and after school, and now you're asking for help. " Potter raised an eyebrow.

"I know. I regret that now. I'm sorry. I-I can't do this anymore. I will get down on my knees and beg if I have to."

Potter seems impressed, but he continues on as if he wasn't. "How did you even get in here? There are supposed to be wards against the Dark Mark."

"Why do you automatically assume that I have the Dark Mark?"

"You're a Malfoy! No, that's wrong of me, I'm sorry. That was wrong for me to assume. Didn't your father force it on you?"

"I refused. I was tortured for it, and I had a week to change my mind. I refused again. The torture was worse the second time around, but after the fourth time, I hardly felt it."

"How many times were you tortured?"

"More than enough. Potter, I really need your help. I know you can protect me. You're the,"

"If you say Boy-Who-Lived, I will not even consider helping you."

"I was going to say most known wizard, second to Merlin, but I won't go there."

Potter smiled and reached out his hand. "I will help you, with some conditions."

"Name them."

"You will submit to questioning, and you will be under surveillance until I feel it is not necessary, and you will not leave wherever I place you without my permission. Fair?"

"I agree." I shook Potter's hand and laughed. "This reminds me of first year."

"What do you mean?"

"When I offered you my hand for friendship, but you refused."

"You just insulted my first friend ever. I wasn't likely to be all friendly to you after that."

"And every day since then, I haven't wondered what would be different if I hadn't-first friend?"

Potter flinched.

"What do you mean by 'first friend'? Didn't you have any friends before Hogwarts?"

"No. My relatives wouldn't allow it."

"What do you mean?"

"It means nothing! I will contact you shortly with information. Where are you staying?"

"The Hog's Head under the name I gave you."

"Good day Mr. Malloy." Potter stormed out, and I was left very confused, but relieved. Potter had both helped me and gave me a mystery to solve. I loved mysteries.

A/N Okay guys! Please review! I'm fairly far on this story, so if I get good feedback, there will be fast updates! Now if you guys think this sucked, then that might be a bad idea, but I still am holding onto hope that someone besides me likes this, and that I'm not totally insane. Or maybe that the start was good, and I am totally insane. Before I confuse myself any more, I am going to stop. Please leave your opinions!

You'll have to excuse me, it was 11:41 at this time I wrote the above Author's Note, and I had a long day. Please disregard everything I said, minus the first three sentences and the last one. Thank you, and I'll try to write my Author's Notes when I'm not tired and slightly insane. Thank you for your time.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Ok this disclaimer goes for the rest of the story because I have no interest in restating it every chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I only own my ideas and the character Gabe so far. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and the various publishers and movie contracts. I also don't own the songs used in this story. They are Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney and I Do (Cherish You) by Mark Wills. I love both of these songs, and I highly recommend listening to them while reading those parts!

Warnings: This is slash. Guy/guy relationships. Don't like? I have one simple answer for that. Don't read. See? Simple!

Still here? Good! Please review and tell me what you think!

Here we go!

***

The next day, Potter came and retrieved me from The Hog's Head. I was relieved to get out of that dirty rat hole, but I was nervous about what would happen to me. "Potter, where are we going?"

"My house. I couldn't get anyone to offer a place for you to stay. I couldn't tell them who you were, and no one liked it."

"Couldn't you just order them to let me stay?"

"You aren't worth me losing the respect of my team. I will not force you on anyone."

That was a tough blow to my pride, but I needed him, so I bit my tongue. "Except for you."

Potter gritted his teeth. "Unlike you, I keep my promises. I told you I was going to help you, and I will."

"Thank you." Wow, that was weird.

Potter looked shocked, and it took all the control I had pounded into me to keep from laughing. "You're welcome."

"Potter, why didn't you have any friends when you were younger?"

"That's not important, Malfoy."

"Draco."

"What?"

"I told my father that I refused to be his pawn anymore, and he beat me and then disowned me. So, I'm just Draco now. So, call me Draco."

Potter looked thoughtful. "Why don't you look beat?"

"You think that I would walk around showing the bruises and cuts off? I hide them under a glamour." I closed my eyes, waved my wand over myself and gasped when something jarred one of the particularly bad bruises. "Why do you care anyway? Every time I try to be nice to you, you shoot me down. You don't know how I feel. You're the Golden Boy. You couldn't possibly know how I feel."

I opened my eyes. Potter had his wand trained on me. I quickly sucked in breath. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" He mumbled a spell, and suddenly, pains I had grown accustom to feeling were gone. "What did you do?"

"A healing charm. Everything should be healed now. Let's go home."

For some reason, I liked how he said home. I was puzzled by it, but I pushed from my mind as Potter grabbed my hand and a whole new set of thoughts and feelings were set off. "Call me Harry."

And then we apparated.

Potter landed gracefully in front of an enormous house. I fell flat on my face. I quickly stood up, hoping Harry didn't see that. If he did, he didn't let on, and I was grateful for that. Then I turned to his house. "This is where you live?"

"Yes. It probably isn't as big as your Manor,"

"It's not mine anymore."

"Right. As big as you're used to, but I like it. I have considered selling it, but I never got around to it. It's much too big for one person, but I love the grounds and I have fallen in love with the library."

"For one person? You live alone? I always thought that you and the Weaslette would get married."

"_Ginny _decided I wasn't enough for her."

"What do you mean?"

"She had an affair behind my back. I came home early one day for her birthday. She was in bed with _him_, and I left her."

"Who was he?"

"Seamus Finnegan. I thought I could trust him. And now every day at work, I have to face his office with pictures of her and their child."

"Finnegan's an Auror?"

Potter nodded. "So I live by myself." His voice broke a bit.

"You loved her, didn't you?"

"More than my own life."

I put my hand on Harry's shoulder, and he flinched. "What? I know I was a Slytherin that tormented you for all those years, but I'm trying to help!"

"No, it's not that. I don't like to be touched. It's been like that for as long as I remember. Plus, it hurts."

Hurts? Oh. He was reminded of Weaslette when I did that. "I'm sorry."

Harry nodded. "Let's go to your rooms."

I nodded and followed him into his mansion. We went through endless hallways, endless twists and turns and up four flights of stairs. There was no way I was going to find my way through here.

"Don't worry; I took the next month off to help you get used to this place."

"Thank you. Hey Harry, what happened to your glasses?"

"I got my eyes fixed a couple months ago. The glasses only got in the way of my job."

I nodded. "How can you remember where everything is around here?"

"When Gin- she left me, I quit at the Ministry and went into a depression. I walked around here aimlessly on nights when I was drunk. The next morning, I had a complete knowledge of where everything is, and a major hangover."

I smiled at Potter's attempt at humor, but I knew he was still cut up about what happened. "I'm really sorry about what happened with her."

"I am too. Here's your room." He opened the door, and I couldn't believe what I saw. I expected to get a small bedroom in a dusty corner or something. This-this was grander than what I had grown up with. It was completely decorated in emerald green, my favorite and old house color. There was an enormous four poster bed in the center of the room, and huge bookcase filled with books, a lovely dresser, and two other doors.

"Harry, I don't have any clothes to put in there." I nodded at the dresser. "My father burned everything I own, except for my wand. He got a fake one."

"Well, that's a problem. We'll go shopping tomorrow. For tonight, I trust you are alright?"

"I will be fine until tomorrow, but I don't have any money."

"Until you are proven trustworthy, you are living off an allowance from my personal bank account."

It was hard for my pride to accept his money, but I knew I had to. "What happens when I am proven trustworthy?"

"You will get a job. I already have one set up for you to go to when I am ready for you to."

"What will I be doing?"

"You will be helping me out. Basically, you will do whatever I say, and get paid for it.

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?"

Potter smiled. "Immensely."

"Fine."

"Goodnight, Draco. My room is just two doors down if you need anything."

"Goodnight Harry."

I fell down on the angel-soft mattress, thinking. Since when had the Puzzle of Potter turn into me actually caring about Potter? Shaking my head, I banished the thought from my mind and turn over to go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up whimpering. I can't be alone to deal with this nightmare right now. I abandoned all thought and ran to Harry's room. I knocked. Potter opened the door, and I could tell he was angry. I whimpered again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you."

His anger disappeared. "What happened?"

I felt stupid now, but I had to tell him. "I had a nightmare." I shook again and rational thinking took its leave from me as I remembered the nightmare.

"Come in here." Potter gently grabbed my hand and brought me to his bed. He pulled me down next to him and wrapped his arms around me. "Go to sleep, Draco. You're safe here."

I closed my eyes. In the safety of Harry's arms, I fell asleep, nightmare free.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I couldn't figure out what was wrapped around me. I looked at it, and realized it was an arm. Everything from last night came flying back to me, and I threw his arm off of me. He woke up. "Draco, I know you're embarrassed, but admit it, you needed that."

"I don't need anything from you, Potter."

Potter sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Really? So you do have a place to live, and money to buy clothes, and protection from whoever's after you? Well, then why are you here?"

I sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I was embarrassed. How did you know exactly what to do when I came to you last night?"

"Because I've felt the same way."

"You have nightmares? The Dark Lord wasn't that bad, was he?"

"No, he wasn't that bad. Him I can deal with. After all, the memories aren't as bad as what he could do when he was alive. It's the other ones that scare me."

"What could Harry Potter possibly be scared about? Your friends dying, I'll bet. You always did care about them more than you should."

"No, it's not that, _Draco._ Everyone's death still hurts me, but I regret that every day! I don't need to think about it at night too, and for once in my bloody life, my subconscious seems to agree with me!"

"What are you scared of then?"

"You want to see what I have a nightmare about every damned night of my life? Look at me."

"I don't see anything."

"Look again." Harry raised his hand and mumbled the same counter spell I had used for my glamour. What was he hiding? I took another look at his face and bare chest. I still didn't see anything until he was done with the counter charm. Then I saw them.

There were horrible bruises, scars, cuts, and burns everywhere. I couldn't believe Potter had lived with these.

"How long?" I barely choked out my question.

"For as long as I can remember."

I looked back at him. "Why- why didn't you heal them like you did with mine?"

I looked into his eyes, and for the first time, I saw only shame and pain in his beautiful green eyes. "I deserve every single one of them."

"You don't deserve this! No one does!"

"Yes I do. Too many people died for me. Before I ever knew what was going on, my parents died for me. In first year, it was Quirrell. In second year, it was almost Ginny. In third year, it was Hermione. In fourth year it was Cedric, and it was almost Moody. In fifth year, it was Sirius, and Luna. In sixth year, it was Ron. Seventh year, I wouldn't let anyone get close to me. I couldn't let anyone else die for me, and Remus still did, trying to talk to me. He was attacked by Death Eaters while trying to get me to talk to him. Did you know he and Tonks were supposed to get married the next day? I ruined it. Then I fought Voldemort, and fifty Aurors and seventy-two innocent people died because I wasn't strong enough to defeat him. I. Deserve. Every. One. Of. These. Damn it! After Ron died in sixth year, I couldn't take it anymore. I went back to them and begged them to torture me. They did, and enjoyed it."

"Who are they?"

"The Dursley's. My mum's sister and her husband and son."

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I still think that you don't deserve this."

"I'm a freak and I should be punished."

"You're not a freak, Harry."

"Yes, I am. You've said it yourself." Ouch, but it was true, I had. He grabbed my arm and dragged me somewhere. He threw open the door, and pulled me in after him. There were pictures everywhere. I looked around. They were everyone who had died in the war. Harry sank down on the one spot where there weren't pictures. "Every single one of them had a life ahead of them. I killed them. Hermione and Ron had just started dating, and I knew they were to be married. Luna was one of my close friends. Sirius was my godfather, and the closest thing I had to a father, and he was killed because I was too stupid to know a vision from just a dream. My mum and dad were only twenty. They had their whole lives ahead of them. They all did. I'm a stupid idiot who can't do anything right."

"Is that why you work as an Auror?"

Harry nodded. "I spend every day of my life trying to make up what I've done. I keep things peaceful so that no one else will die because of me. Your father is our main problem, and I fear that he will soon become as corrupted as Voldemort if nothing happens. I don't want to have to save the world again. I wouldn't be able to do it." Such deep exhaustion was woven into his voice; my heart broke a little bit.

"Harry, I'm sorry you have had to go through this, but it's really not your fault. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for all this,"

"I can, and I will."

I couldn't take it anymore. I gave up trying to convince him. I don't know what made me do it, or what made me suddenly interested in him as more than a friend or mutual acquaintance, but I pulled Harry up and leaned towards him. Then I kissed him.

A/N There it is! The Draco Harry action that you probably signed up for! And a million and a half thank yous to everyone who added me to their favorites/alerts. And a billion and more thank yous to CountryPersonel for reviewing both of the chapters! Thank you so much!

Now, please tell me if you think that that last action was too fast. I don't want to give too much away, but Harry and Draco don't necessarily get together yet. There are a couple road bumps first. Now, I'm going to stop myself before I give everything away. Please follow CountryPersonel's example and REVIEW! Thank you again!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Ok, there's a bit of swearing in the chapter. You'll understand, right? If you don't like it, read anyway and pretend it's not there. Thank you very much, and *bows* enjoy.

"I hate seeing you hurt."

Harry pushed me away with a glare in his eyes. "No, you hate not being the one to do the hurting."

My temper flared. He had no right to say that. "You're wrong, Harry Potter! I am trying to help you! I only hated you because you embarrassed me in front of everyone I was supposed to impress. I was the laughing stock of Slytherin for almost this entire first month of first year!"

"Oh, that must have been horrible! What about having the whole school turn on you because you were entered in a tournament that scared the shit out of you? I wanted to be your friend, but you had to insult Hagrid and Ron damn it! I felt something different when I was around you! Every insult you threw at me only hurt me more! AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN!!!!!" He paused to catch his breath, and to try to get himself under control. He whispered the next part so softly, that I had to strain to hear it. "When you told me about that bet you had with your father, everything came crashing down. I wanted to beg you to reconsider our potential friendship, and I wanted to cry because you would never have any interest in me besides to insult me. I did cry that night because the only thing we would ever be is enemies. I never cry anymore. I cried all I could before school even started, and I promised I never would again. But that night, you made me cry, and I hate you for making me break my promise to myself."

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to say those things to you. You have to understand that there were Death Eater's children everywhere. I couldn't be nice to you, because they would see, and word would get back to my father, and I would be punished. All I cared about in those days was making my father proud of me. I know now how foolish I was to believe that he was right. I was wrong. Harry, now all I want is to make you happy and prove myself to you. I feel something when I'm around you too. Something I've never felt. I'm so happy around you when you're happy, and it kills me to see you like this! Please let me help you! Harry, I need to help you. My heart is yours. Do with it what you will, but it is completely yours."

"Draco," Harry kissed me passionately, and I melted. If Harry's arm wasn't around my waist supporting me, I would have fallen to the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready to love," He flinched, "again. I can't bear to have my heart broken again. It's torn apart right now, and I don't know if I can repair it."

"Harry, I'll wait for you. I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to do, or how many other lovers you go through, I will wait."

Harry smiled slightly. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"You need clothes, remember?"

"Right. How are we going to go without being recognized?"

"You are a wizard, right?"

"Yes, but how does that-oh. Glamours."

"Bingo."

"Bingo?"

"Muggle term. Come on."

Harry sighed and concentrated for a short time. Slowly, his eyes changed to a deep purple, and his hair turned dirty blonde. He shortened quite a bit. I looked at his work appreciatively. If I didn't know it was him, I wouldn't have guessed. Then it hit me.

"You did that wordlessly and wandlessly!"

"You noticed, did you? I've been working on that for a while now."

'I didn't know you could do that."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Draco."

"You're right, but I'd love to learn." I noticed how Harry flinched at the word 'love.' I made a mental note to myself not to say it anymore.

"Since you're living with me, I'm sure you will. Disguise yourself."

I nodded and took out my wand. "I still have to use this you know."

Harry smiled slightly. "Well maybe I will help you with that someday."

"Are you offering to help me?"

Harry smiled again, this time a full-blown smile. "That depends. Are you willing to leave your pride at the door and be taught by a half-blood?"

I sighed. "That blood stuff is crap. You are a 'half-blood'," I made quotes in the air, "and you can do wandless and wordless magic with complicated spells, and I can hardly manage it with my wand."

Harry clapped his hands. "So you finally figured it out? Even Voldemort was a half-blood and his mother was a squib, and though I hate to admit it, he was a great wizard before he went mad."

"I know. I'm sorry that I couldn't see that before. I was very wrong all those years, and I wish I hadn't insulted your friend. Who knows? Maybe I could have avoided this." I held up my left arm slightly, even though it was now covered. I still kept my glamour on that. Harry didn't need to see that. "So many things could have been different for us. Maybe you wouldn't- never mind."

"Wouldn't what?"

"Nothing, I was going too far."

"Tell me."

"No, I didn't mean to go there."

"Tell me, damn it!"

"Maybe you wouldn't have had your heart broken by Weaslette!"

He sighed. "You're right."

"What?"

"I wish I had never met _Ginny. _Ironic that she's the only Weasley besides Percy and the Twins that is still alive. All my friends are gone." Harry whispered his last sentence, as if he was just realizing it himself.


	5. Chapter 5

"_All my friends are gone." Harry whispered his last sentence, as if he was just realizing it himself." _

"Harry, I'm sorry. I wish you had more friends. How about this: we forget that I want to love," Flinch. "you. We'll start off as friends."

"Are you actually offering to sacrifice something foe someone else's happiness? How Gryffindor of you." His attempt at humor could barely be called half-hearted.

"Don't call me Gryffindor, but yes, I am willing to sacrifice this for your happiness. I would give up everything for your happiness."

My declaration seemed to shake him. "V-Very well. Friends?"

I smiled and took Harry's hand. "Friends. Now you still have one friend. Before you say anything, no I will not try to replace the friends you had before. I will not do that to you or me. I will not act like them, but I will be here for you. It will be just like Slytherin."

"What?"

"In Slytherin, everyone always looked out for each other. We always had each other's backs. After all, no one else would. The Sorting Hat was Dumbledore's, so it was naturally biased against Slytherins. It focused on the slyness and cunning, but it never mentioned the fierce loyalty we have to each other."

"Isn't loyalty Hufflepuff's thing?"

"Yes, loyalty to their friends. Slytherins are loyal to their whole house. Everyone knows everyone, and we tend to keep to ourselves, which has the side effect of everyone else thinking that we're evil. When a Slytherin is in trouble, every Slytherin puts their differences aside and helps out."

"Then I wish I had let the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin."

"You were supposed to be in Slytherin?"

"Yes, but I was afraid. Hagrid told me more Dark Wizards and Witches came out of that house than any other, and since I was so new, I didn't understand the difference between 'more' and 'they all are.' I made a mistake that day. I should have been in Slytherin. I would have met you earlier and maybe by now we'd be best friends or maybe even lovers." Flinch. "I would have more to give you than just friendship."

"Harry," I put my hand on his cheek. "Your friendship is all that I need. Can we do the shopping later?"

He looked shocked, but it stopped his downward spiral. "Why? Do you have something better you would like to do?"

"Yes, I would like to,"

"Draco!"

"It's not what you are thinking. I want you to meet some people."

"Who?"

"I'm going to take you to meet the people who were supposed to be your dorm mates."

"Slytherins? They hate me!"

I sighed. "Only because I told them to. See, I was a bit of a prince to them. They did anything I said. I hate it now, but I loved," Harry flinched again. Oops. "the attention at the time."

He sighed, "Alright. But if they make one move against me, I'm leaving."

"Sounds fair to me."

"Draco, I trust you. I know you aren't leading me into a trap. But please tell me that all of them aren't going to be there."

Trust. He just said he trusted me. "Not all of them. We can't stand a few of them, but everyone else will be there. Slytherin isn't that big a house, you know."

"Alright."

"Just give me five minutes to contact them, and we'll leave."

"How are you going to do that?"

"How would you do it?"

"Owls."

"You sound shocked?"

"You insinuated that you had some special way of contacting them."

"I insinuated nothing. You assumed."

Harry blushed a deep red, and I tried not to laugh. "Forgive me."

"It's nothing. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

I quickly wrote out all the letters to my ex-dorm mates and walked back to Harry. "Alright, I'm all done. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just let me take off my glamour."

"Maybe you should leave that on for now. Just to be safe. We can't apparated there, so we have to walk some of the way."

"Okay. Shouldn't you put one on too?"

"Sure." I didn't do as much as Harry. I merely changed my hair color and eye color. Then we apparated to a small town just outside Scotland.

"Where are we?"

"Scotland, about twenty miles south of Hogwarts."

"Where are we going?"

"There is a manor up the road here designated by Salazar Slytherin as a meeting place for all of his 'children.' Also known as the Slytherins."

"Why didn't you live there?"

It hurt that he didn't want me to live with him, but it was to be expected, really. "I am forbidden. Only certain people are allowed to go past the room we are allowed to use as a meeting room. Blaise Zabini, Greg Goyle, and Gabriel Penthrel are allowed, as far as I know. Any romantic interest that they have will be allowed too, but other than that, no one is allowed to see the rest of Slytherin's Manor."

"Oh. We'd better start going."

"Let's go," I agreed.

By the time we made it to the manor, Blaise was waiting for us. "Hello Draco."

I cancelled my glamour. "How did you know it was me?"

"I didn't recognize you, but you are currently running from your father. Who else would it be? Although, I do not know who your friend is. I have never seen him before. Is he another refugee?"

Harry spoke up, but his voice was disguised. I rolled my eyes. Of course it was. "In a way. We have met before, though not under the most friendly circumstances."

"I know you?"

I spoke up. "Perhaps it would be better if we were to continue this discussion inside? Blaise, would you open the door?"

"Of course. " We followed Blaise into the manor. I saw Harry look in awe at the decorations. We headed to the meeting room, and I gasped in pain.

Harry heard me and turned. "What's wrong?"

"There are wards on the door against Dark Marks."

"I thought you said you refused to be Marked!"

"I did. I only told you the half-truth. The Ministry wards only block willing followers."

"You weren't willing?"

"No. They burnt it onto me while I slept. I could do nothing. However, when I refused to go on any missions or do anything for the new 'Dark Lord,' well, it was painful."

"What did they do?"

Blaise entered the conversation. "Come to the table. It will be easier to see in the light."

We processed to the table and I took a deep breath. Then, I removed the glamour and unwound the bandages holding my arm together.

Harry paled at what he saw. It wasn't pretty. "What did they do?"

I closed my eyes as I began my tale. Reliving it would be easier this way. "They took a hot iron in the shape of the Dark Mark and pressed it on top of the one already there. Then they whipped me, but you already healed those. Next, I was left in the dark dungeon for two weeks with nothing. I was dragged back into the torture chamber, and whipped more. Then, my father told me he had officially disowned me, and took a knife to my Mark. That is what you see before you."

Harry paled even further as my tale progressed. When I finished, he gently took my arm and whispered something to it. The burn marks went away, but the cut was still there. "The knife was cursed. No normal spell can heal this, and it will not heal on its own."

I groaned. I would have to always have it bandaged.

Blaise looked thoughtful. "No normal spell?"

Harry smiled very slightly. "Indeed. I know of one spell that will remove the curse from the injury."

"I demand you do it." There was Commander Blaise, my best friend the army general.

"I was going to anyway." Harry snapped.

"Well, hurry up and do it then!"

Harry rolled his eyes, but he nodded. Then, he slumped over slightly, relaxing. "This might sting a bit." He placed his hands to my cut, and I wanted to scream out, but I whimpered instead. I was ignored. I didn't like it, and a spark of my old self came back and I wanted to demand Harry's attention. I remembered that he was trying to help me, and that he probably needed to concentrate, so I stopped myself.

Harry started mumbling again, and so I relaxed and listened to his soothing voice. Soon, the pain started to fade. Ten minutes of whispered nothings later, the deep gash in my arm was gone. I opened my eyes to thank Harry and found his glamour flickering.

"No!"

A/N Cliffhanger!!!!! What will happen next?

Please review!!!!!! Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

I am so sorry that this took so long! I thought that I put it up, but I somehow forgot to! I'm so sorry!

A/N Ok, this chapter is a bit longer than the rest. I got quite a few reviews and a pleasing amount of story alerts, so I decided to reward you guys with a longer chapter! The chapters are usually around three pages long on Word, but this one is nine pages! Please enjoy!

Blaise jumped to attention. "What?"

"He's exhausted himself magically. He's going to pass out! Get him to a couch or something!"

Blaise nodded and conjured a couch. I pulled a now unconscious Harry to the couch and laid him on it. By now, the glamour was completely gone. I turned fearfully to see Blaise's reaction.

His face reddened. "You brought HARRY BLOODY POTTER TO OUR SANTCUARY! ONLY SLYTHERINS ARE TO KNOW OF THIS PLACE AND YOU BROUGHT A BLOODY **GRYFFINDOR** HERE?"

"BLAISE! Listen to me! Do you know what he just did for me?"

"HE WORE HIMSELF OUT, THE STUPID GRYFFINDOR!"

SMACK. Never before had I slapped my best friend, but I had to. "No! He just exhausted his magical powers. Do you know what happens when a wizard does that?"

Blaise narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

I sighed to calm myself down. "I apologize for hitting you. I had to get you to listen. When a wizard exhausts his magical reserves, he," I faltered. "He dies. Harry might have just given his life up for me."

Blaise paled. "What?"

"He could die because of me."

"Is there any way to help him?"

"No. We only hope that he didn't push himself too far, and that he still has some of his magic left. That is all we can do." And for the first time in a long time, I cried. I cried for the friend that might have laid down his life for me, even after the horrible things I had done to him. I cried, knowing that he might die with a still-broken heart. I cried, knowing he might soon be with all the people he still mourns about. I cried because I love him. I just cried.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and through tear-blurred vision, I saw Blaise's attempt to console me. "I'm sorry. You were right, and I should have thought about what I was saying before I insulted Potter. I apologize, and I hope both of you can forgive me." He was being honest.

"You'll have to apologize to Harry before I can forgive you. He is the one you insulted."

Blaise nodded. "I will."

We sat in silence for a time. I cried silently until Blaise spoke again. "Draco, the others will be here very soon. We'll explain the situation to them and go from there."

I nodded. "Please tell me when they get here. I have to transform into the Ice Prince again." I groaned silently.

Blaise understood. "No, you really don't. Do you want our housemates to get to know Harry because their 'Prince' told them to, or because they really want to? Let them see you like this. It will make them see that you are serious."

"Alright."

Blaise closed his eyes. "Someone has just arrived. I think its Gabe and Greg. They can let themselves in, but we'd better go explain the situation."

I nodded again, this time standing to follow Blaise.

Of course, he was right. Gabe and Greg walked in. "Gabe, Greg."

"Blaise, Draco. Why are we here?"

"Draco called this to explain a certain situation, but there was a certain circumstance we did not expect, so things are going to be different today. We will be meeting in the small library."

"All of us?"

"Yes."

"Blaise, you know only we three can go in there! That is not going to work!"

"I have a feeling it will."

Blaise was the unofficial head of our little organization, and we all respected him, so Gabe and Greg nodded and backed off.

Over the next ten minutes, everyone arrived and was told what was going on. Blaise, Greg, and Gabe led us down countless hallways, not even close to the amount Harry had, but still too many, until we came to a door.

Blaise turned and addressed us. "While we were coming down here, you passed through wards that should keep all but the chosen few out. Now, as you know, our fourth seat of honor has been empty for the longest time. It is said that the son of the light and the dark is to fill that seat, and that he will do what no other could. I believe he is here in this very building."

There were excited whispers until Gabe held up his hand for silence and motioned for Blaise to continue.

"He would be here to meet you and take up his throne; however, just fifteen minutes ago, he performed an amazing task that I have never before seen." It dawned on me. No. It couldn't be Harry. He was a Gryffindor. But he was supposed to be a Slytherin. Could he be the one we had been waiting for? "To tell what happened, I'll let Draco tell you his story."

Everyone turned and looked at me. "As you all probably know, I ran away from my imprisonment at Malfoy Manor. I no longer belonged there, and I had to get away. Before I did, however, I was imprinted with the Dark Mark. My father has started Voldemort's legacy once again. I refused to take the Dark Mark more times than I can remember, and each time, I was tortured. Finally, my father, no, I refuse to call that monster my father. Finally, Lucius had it burnt onto me while I was sleeping. I still refused everything they told me to do, so I was tortured more. When I ran away, I had nowhere to go. So, I sucked up my foolish pride, and went to Harry Potter." There were the expected gasps, and some cries of protest, but I held up my hand, and they shut up. "He questioned me, and eventually took me in. I have been living with him since I ran away, and he eventually revealed many things to me. What he told me is not for me to share, but I know that you all need to know this. He was supposed to be one of us. He would not allow himself to be put in Slytherin. He realized he made a mistake, so I brought him here to meet you all."

Now the outburst would not be silenced. I looked to Blaise for help. He used his connection as one of Slytherin's chosen to quickly turn off the lights, and turn them back on. "SHUT UP!"

Everyone respected Blaise enough to actually follow what he told them to do. "Let Draco continue."

I nodded to thank him, and then I continued. "While we were waiting, a certain situation came up where it was revealed that my Mark and myself had been tortured. Harry healed the burns and every mark I had from Lucius' torture, but he told me that no normal spell could heal the giant gash Lucius had given me with a cursed knife. I was terrified that I would have to keep my arm bandaged. Blaise caught onto what he was saying, and asked what he meant by no normal spell. Harry said that he knew one spell that would heal it. Blaise demanded that he do it, and he did. By the end of the spell, he exhausted himself magically and is now lying down in our usual meeting place. What he did for me, the man who made his life hell for as long as I knew him, shows that he does not hold grudges, and also that he deserves our respect. Before we came here, he came to the realization that all of his friends had died in the war. I told him, among other things, that I would be his friend. I would not replace the friends he had, but he would not be alone again. My request is that we start over and try to make peace between us."

"Why is he alone? What happened to the stupid red head he was dating in sixth year?"

"It is not my place to tell."

"Why did you suddenly change your mind about him? You always told us to hate him!"

"I had my eyes opened. I know now that blood purity is a conspiracy theory. I was wrong to make you all hate him. You could have been friends with him, and I held you back. I shouldn't have made your decisions for you. I wish you would give him a second chance, and I hope that we can make his life better when for so long he has had to hold us all up through our stupid decisions. Well, mine mostly, but I hope you can forget everything in the past."

"Why should we forgive Gryffindor's Golden Boy? He already had a perfect life when he was younger. So he lost a few of his friends in the war. We all did. Why is he so special? Why should he get special treatment again?"

"Because we were wrong about him! The best he had ever been treated was at Hogwarts when we were all taunting him and constantly hurting him!"

"What do you mean?"

"His relatives hate him and anything they deem 'abnormal.' In reality, he is exactly like most of you."

"He does not know abuse! He will always be the Golden Boy."

I stopped myself from telling them that he actually was abused, but I didn't need to.

"You're wrong."

Every person in that room turned and looked at the late arrival to our meeting. It was Harry. He was supporting himself on the wall, but he was still there; alive and up. Although he shouldn't be up yet, I couldn't help but be extremely glad he was. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Besides the amazing fact that he was up, Harry had somehow lost his shirt on the way here. His year as an Auror had treated him well. He was all muscle, but somehow still lithe and willowy. I desperately wanted to feel his chest, but I held myself back. I tried to pay attention to what he was saying.

"I hide everything from you because you would use that against me, and I hate feeling weak. I hide everything that has ever happened to me under a glamour."

"I don't believe you Potter."

"Yeah, Potter. Show us what you hide."

"Fine." He closed his eyes to start removing his glamour.

"Harry, you don't have to do this. You don't have to prove anything to them."

"No. They want to know, so I'll show them." Slowly, the glamours faded. He was still extremely muscular, but there were black bruises, deep and vicious cuts, and fiery burns everywhere. "This is what I have lived with my whole life. And yes, I could heal them, and no, I won't."

No one wanted to speak after that. After a bit of uncomfortable silence, I spoke up.

"Harry, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough. Thank you for keeping my secrets, Draco." He turned to the gathering before us. "I am alone because my girlfriend at the time, Ginny Weasley, cheated on me with someone I work with. Also, I have in fact been abused my whole life, so don't say I don't know abuse. I know it very well."

"Why don't those heal themselves?"

"I am not ready to face that part of my life yet. I will say that I was betrayed by someone or some people close to me."

"Tell us!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

Harry growled. "Two people I trusted went behind my back and gave some cursed objects to my relatives. They wasted no time in celebrating their new 'toys' on me. Needless to say, these will not heal by themselves. Any other questions?"

Once again, Harry had talked everyone into silence.

"Good. Now, I have never liked you all, and you have never liked me. I am willing to try again, but the choice is really up to you. I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. Look what happened to Voldemort. Now, I'm not saying those are the only two choices. You can leave from here with more knowledge about me than you had before, but nothing else. I am fine with that. So, your choices are friendship, mutual truce, or we can go on hating each other. The choice is yours." Harry pulled out his wand, the first time I had seen him use it, and conjured a chair. "I am weak, but I could still take you all out single-handedly, so don't think about attacking me."

Everyone looked to me to see if he was bluffing. I shook my head. "It's true. I've seen what he can do without a wand. I can't imagine what he can do with it."

Harry nodded to me in thanks. "Now, you have twenty-four hours to make your decision."

Blaise spoke up again. "For the first time, you are all allowed to stay here. There will be specified rooms for each of you. You will know which is yours. However, you had all better be gone before Potter leaves."

"Why him?"

"He is the fourth and most powerful of Slytherin's sons."

Even Harry looked shocked, but he hid it well. "How can you be sure?"

"If you weren't, you would not be able to go past the multiple wards set up by Slytherin himself. He should be doubled over in pain because he knows where this Manor is and he is a Gryffindor, but he is clearly not. There are so many more reasons."

Everyone turned to Harry in his conjured chair, and they bowed to him. Harry looked mildly disgusted, and intrigued at the same time. "If I am 'The fourth son', what does that mean?"

"You have access to the vault of Slytherin, and the fourth room that has been un-opened since Slytherin sealed it. You control this Manor, along with Gabe, Greg, and myself. You are basically royalty here."

Harry sighed quickly and discreetly. "Very well, if this is true, it will not come into play when you are deciding about what to do. Am I clear?"

There was no sound again. "Very well."

Blaise took over again. "Alright. Meet us back here again in twenty-four hours with your decision. Dismissed."

One-by-one, the Slytherins came and bowed to Harry. When they were all gone but Blaise, Greg, Gabe, and I, Blaise walked up to Harry and bowed, the first time I had seen him do so. "If you will accept it, you have my friendship and loyalty."

"I look forward to learning about you. You may call me Harry" Harry held out his hand, and Blaise shook it. He then turned to me. "I hope you will tell Harry of our customs here."

"I will."

"Good. And Harry, I have to apologize for the years at school and for when you healed Draco. I insulted you and was outraged at what Draco had done. I was being foolish, naïve, and irrational. Draco quickly set me straight, and I felt I needed to apologize. So, I am sorry that I couldn't see past your titles and fame."

"Thank you, Blaise. I am impressed at your apology, and I forgive you. It is not the first time I have been insulted, and I very much doubt it will be the last." Blaise nodded and stepped back, and Greg stepped forward and bowed.

"There is too much bitterness between us from school. However, I would like to get to know you in a mutual truce, and maybe work up to friendship."

Harry nodded. "I agree. Thank you for your decision."

Greg bowed again as he backed up, and Gabe stepped forward. "You intrigue me. You have enough power to take over the world, yet you don't. You could destroy us all for the hell we put you through at school easily while we were all here, but you didn't. You almost gave up your life for someone who hated you for the longest time. You are an extremely selfless person, Harry Potter, and I would love," Harry flinched again, "to learn more about you and be you friend. I will make the same pledge as Draco. I will not replace your other friends that are now gone, but you won't be alone anymore."

"I am not as selfless as you would think, but thank you anyway. I look forward to learning about you too."

Harry smiled weakly at his two new friends and his mutual acquaintance. "I'm tired. Can I go somewhere to sleep?"

"Of course. Gabe take him upstairs and show him his bedroom." Gabe nodded and led Harry to an extremely grand room.

"If you need anything, just request it, and the room will provide for you."

"Thank you, Gabe."

"You're welcome."

Meanwhile, I was downstairs talking to Greg and Blaise.

"Greg, would you please leave Draco and me alone? And tell Gabe that Draco and I need some time to talk alone."

"Yeah, I have to go anyway. I think Gabe does too. His parents don't know he's here."

"Thank you." Blaise waited until Greg was gone, and then he turned to me. "There is something going on between you and Harry."

"Yes. He is my friend. He saved me from being homeless on the streets."

"There is something more than just friendship between you."

I sighed. "I forgot how intuitive you are. Yes, I fancy him."

"Why don't you pursue him? He would make a very worthy mate for you."

"He says he is not ready to love again. The Weaslette broke his heart when she had her affair, and he isn't ready to love again. He even flinches when he hears the word 'love'. I can't go after him when he is still stuck in a past love. I can't hurt him like that; not anymore."

"What changed?"

"I saw who he really is, and realized I always liked him, but I was too consumed in my hate that he embarrassed me to see that."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Yes. I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never had an interest in girls, or anyone but him, really."

"You should not be ashamed. Salazar Slytherin was gay too."

My head snapped up. "He was?"

"Yes. His mate was a man he loved more than anything. Actually, I think he was a great-something of Harry's."

Wow. That was new. "What happened to them?"

"Slytherin's hate for Muggles was not unfounded. They saw his mate slightly change his appearance to keep his kind from recognizing him, and they accused him of witchcraft and burnt him."

"What do you mean 'his kind'? Why don't you say wizards?"

"He wasn't a wizard. He was a vampire."

"What? Does that mean-?"

"No. Harry is not a vampire. If he was, he would have come into his inheritance on his seventeenth birthday. No, but he will have all the powers of a vampire."

"What does that mean?"

"As soon as he recognizes his heritage, he will be able to see in the dark, fly without the aid of any object, he will be extremely stealthy, and he will have an extra form of magic. It's called demon magic, and it means that he can create statues of any 'mythical' creature, and bring them to life. Of course, he'll need a bit of practice, but he will be able to eventually."

"Wow."

"I know it is a lot to take in, but he is still the same Harry you love. Did this change the way you feel about him?"

"Not at all."

"Good, because I made it all up."

"What?"

"I had to test how devoted you were to him."

"So Slytherin wasn't gay?"

"Well, I didn't make that part up. His mate wasn't a relative of Harry's, but he was a vampire. So, now you know."

"Thank you, Blaise."

"Anything for a friend. Draco, I think Harry needs your help to heal. He can't do this by himself. Next time when he's up and walking, notice how he seemed slumped over. He is hurting Draco, and he blames himself. You need to help him."

"I know, but I don't know how. He won't open up to me or anyone, really."

"There's no better time than the present to learn how to help him."

"I know."

"So go talk to him."

"Right now?"

"Yes. You are considered a potential mate, so you have free rein here. I will take you to his room."

"Thank you, Blaise. I needed someone's advice."

"That's what I'm here for. Follow me." Blaise led me to Harry's room and walked away. I was thankful for his understanding.

I knocked on his door. "Harry, can I talk to you?"

I didn't get a response, so I assumed Harry was asleep, so I turned to leave until tomorrow. Then, I was stopped in my tracks. I heard sobbing. I rushed back to Harry's door and burst it open. Harry was in a dark corner sobbing to the wall. I ran over to him and wrapped him in my arms. He clung to me and cried.

When he had finally stopped crying, he realized where he was, and shoved himself off of me. "I don't need your help, Malfoy."

Had we just taken one step forward and three steps back? "Harry, yes you do. I want to help you. Please let me help you."

"I don't need you. You're the reason I'm like this, and I hate you Malfoy." That hurt me more than Lucius' torture. I did not expect what happened next. Harry backhanded me across the face, and he kept attacking me. Every fighting style imaginable, he showed me them all, and I stood there and took it, knowing that he needed this. I couldn't help but notice that he became a ethereal beauty when he was angry.

No matter how much pain I was in, I let him attack me for as long as he needed.

When he finally stopped, I could barely stand by myself. I was leaning against the bed frame to keep myself up.

Realization came upon Harry, and I saw he was back to his normal self. "Glad to have you back, Harry." Then I fainted, and everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Ok, this same day update is attempting to make up for my lack of updating the chapter I had finished. I hope that you guys will forgive me?

Also, Silverstargirl pointed out to me that it seemed like Harry was a direct descendent of Slytherin. He is not. He is from a chosen bloodline, so if any of the Potters were to go to the Manor, the same would have happened to them, and it has nothing to do with actual blood relations. Thank you so much for pointing that out to me! You get a cookie! And don't worry, it'll happen sooner than you think!

I came to with a groan of pain. I slowly opened my eyes to see a very distressed Harry pacing in front of me. I groaned again, this time catching Harry's attention.

"Oh Merlin, Draco! I am so sorry! I didn't know what I was doing, and look what I've done to you! I can't believe I lost control like that! That has only happened once before, but I was twelve! Please, leave me alone. For your own safety, forget about me. I can't lose control like this again!"

"Harry, I love you." He didn't flinch, "I can't, and won't, forget you. I never could, and I'm staying with you. I will endure this a hundred times over, if it means staying by your side and loving you." I was testing it with the second love, and this time, the flinch was back.

There were tears in his eyes as he replied. "You don't mean that. You can't. Not after what I did to you."

"Yes, I do."

"I hurt you so badly though!"

"Yes, but it is no less than what I did to you at school. Now, we're even."

"Is this my chance for redemption?"

"Is this mine?"

"I forgave you a long time ago."

"As did I." I smiled.

"Draco, if you are willing to take me, even after this," he paused and closed his eyes, as if in pain, before opening them again. Suddenly, his brilliant emeralds were shining with something I had never seen, "I think I am ready to try with you."

I couldn't believe it. "I am more than willing."

Harry's watery smile was somehow beautiful in that moment. He leaned down to me, and I just realized I was on his bed, but it didn't matter. I sat up slightly to meet him halfway, and we kissed. This time, it was a real kiss, and I was amazed at how well Harry could use his mouth like that. We were both giving ourselves fully to the kiss, and it was perfect.

When we pulled apart, we were both flushed and breathless. We lay down next to each other and regained our breath.

"Harry, why were you crying like that earlier?"

Harry searched me, as if trying to see if I was going to ridicule him for what he was going to say. He seemed to find none of what he was looking for, so he began speaking. "I can't handle anymore roles that I have to live up to. This whole 'fourth and most powerful son of Slytherin' mess was the last straw, and I can't handle it anymore."

I was relieved that was it, but I didn't let it show. "Harry, being one of Slytherin's sons only means that you have a bit more respect than you would normally around here. Also, it just means that you can change something that you think is corrupt, not that you need to. You already have the power that is included in the role, so nothing will change. It isn't really a huge role, and if you choose to, you can leave Blaise in charge."

"He seems to do a good job, and everyone already respects him, and I only have three of the answers about my 'alliance' with the Slytherins. I will only step in when I deem necessary. I can do that, right?"

"Of course; I think it is a good idea. Plus, that means you'll have more free time to spend like this."

He just smiled, and I realized what I said.

"Oh! I don't mean it like that! You can do whatever you want, I just meant that you won't be so busy, and, oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you would spend all your time with me, and I,"

Harry silenced me with his lips. "Draco, I know what you meant. I was imagining all of the things we could learn about each other. I hardly really know the real you. Aren't couples supposed to know little things about each other that no one else does?"

I started to reply, but Harry silenced me again, this time with his finger on my lips.

"Don't tell me. I look forward to spending enough time with you to find out what those things are."

I nodded, not wanting to say the wrong thing to ruin this piece of heaven I had found. Instead, I lowered myself back onto Harry and kissed him again.

Hours of talking, laughing, and kissing later, Harry and I returned to the main rooms. This time, we were holding hands, finally equals.

We came upon Blaise first, and he smiled and clapped. "I'm happy for you. But, Harry,"

"Yes?"

"If you hurt him in any way, shape, or form, you will have me to deal with. Slytherin's son and friend or not, Draco is almost my brother. I expect fair treatment to him as a minimum at all times."

"I will do nothing less than what you require. I intend to be with him for a long time." I smiled at him, and thanked him with another kiss.

"Oi! I'm not finished!"

We eventually humoured him and broke apart.

"Draco, the same goes to you. For the first time since I met Harry, he isn't hunched over as if everything in the world fell on him, which it actually did, but that's beside the point. I want you to show him the person that you really are. As his friend, I will defend him if he is in the right. Understand?"

"Of course. I love him, and would never hurt him. Just the thought causes me pain."

"Good. And before you go at it again, I want to congratulate you two on finally getting together and completing each other so well. It's dark and pale, black and white, as if that wasn't a clue enough for you two!" He smiled

"Hey!" Harry and I both said at the same time.

Blaise just laughed and walked away. Now that he had mentioned it, Harry and I were polar opposites. He was tan and his hair was black. I was pale, but not in a sickly kind of way, and my hair was so blonde it was practically white. I loved that we fit together so well. Harry brought me out of my musings with a quick kiss.

"What are you thinking about?"

"About what Blaise said; how we're polar opposites. He was right. I'm pale and my hair is light blonde. You're tan, and your hair is jet black. Yet, I love you so much."

Harry smiled. "You're right." Harry kissed me again, but more passionately and much longer this time. Once again, I melted.

"I love you so much, Harry."

"I do too."

I wanted to hear him say he loves me, but I understand that he can't say that yet. Besides, his kisses told me what I needed to know.

I kissed him again, and we went off together again to talk more. Well, maybe we would talk for a little bit. I smiled as Harry pulled me by my hand to the library.

"How did you know where everything is?"

"I have a connection to this house, remember?"

"Right."

"So, what do you want? Do you want to go shopping now, or go back to the Manor, or stay here, or talk to Blaise, or what?"

"If you don't mind, I'd just prefer to go back to the Manor and relax with you."

"That sounds perfect to me." Harry grabbed my hand, and soon we were back to his Manor. As the time before, I fell flat on my face. Harry snickered.

"Would you tell me how you land so well? I hate apparating."

Harry full-out laughed now. "That is for me to know, and you to find out."

"Can I persuade it out of you?"

"You can sure as hell try. But, I am an Auror, so you'll have to work pretty hard to get me to talk when I don't want to."

I pouted and Harry laughed again. He pulled me up and we went inside.

"Come here. I want to show you something."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever been to a movie theatre?"

"A what?"

"Didn't think so. A movie theatre is where Muggles watch movies. I had one put in my house a couple years ago. Ginny never saw it." Harry seemed saddened, so I kissed him quickly on the lips. He was brought out of his musings, and I saw the happiness come back to his eyes. "Thank you."

I smiled, glad that I could make his eyes shine like that. "So what is this thing you're going to show me?"

"Right!" The animation came back to Harry, and I smiled again, loving how his happiness made me smile. "A movie is kind of like our pictures, but there's sound, and it tells a story. It's like reading a book, but with pictures, and you really don't have to do anything but watch it."

"How is that possible?"

Harry smiled. "Just come and see."

I shook my head. I was so confused.

Harry grabbed my hand and pulled me to a door. He opened it and the lights turned on. I was definitely impressed with the room. There was red velvet hanging everywhere, and there was a big screen on the wall in the front of the room. Harry pulled me to one of the seats in the room. "Sit down."

I did as I was told.

"I'll be right back."

"Alright." Harry ran off somewhere, and I looked around more. This room was somehow elegant.

Soon, Harry was back, and I could no longer admire the room as I wanted. However, I soon forgot about the room when Harry kissed me again. I kissed hungrily back. Soon, we were both breathless.

I smiled. "What was that for?"

Harry shrugged. "Because I wanted to."

Not so oddly, I was okay with that. "So what do we do again?"

"Sit back and watch."

We did, and I sat through my first movie. For a Muggle invention, it was pretty entertaining. I loved the movie Harry had picked out. It was a comedy called Get Smart, and it was hilarious. I laughed the whole time, and Harry did too.

When the movie ended, Harry looked over to me. "Did you like it?"

I nodded. "It was so funny!"

Harry kissed me quickly. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Want to know what would make it even more enjoyable?"

"What would that be?"

"If you kissed me again."

"I can do that for you." Harry lowered his lips onto mine, and I met him. We kissed, and I loved every minute of it.

Harry pulled away quickly, and I looked up, confused and missing his lips. He sounded almost animal when he growled one word. "Mine."

"What?"

"You are mine."

I smiled. That was the closest Harry had gotten to saying that he loves me.

I kissed him again.

We broke apart to the sound of alarms going off. "Harry! What is that?"

"There has been an intruder here. Take out your wand and stay close to me."

I nodded, and we silently crept out of the room into the hall. We searched everywhere, but there was no one in any part of the enormous house. We had one room left to check. Harry grabbed my hand and pulled me as close to him as possible, and kissed me quickly but with much passion. With that, he opened the door to my bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

There was no one again.

"Strange." He said. I agreed. "Let me do something."

"Are you going to do something like with my mark? Will it exhaust you again? Please don't do that to me again, Harry."

"It's nothing like that. It's a simple spell."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Harry smiled and nodded, but he was still tense. "_Homenum revelio."_

Nothing happened. "What was that supposed to do, Harry?"

"Shush. It reveals any people in the house. There are only two."

"Us."

"Yes. So why were my alarms set off?"

I was going to answer, but then I was quieted again.

"Hold on, Draco. Don't say anything."

I nodded, and then I heard it. There was faint hissing.

Then, Harry was hissing back. I would have been shocked, but second year came rushing back to me. Harry was a Parselmouth.

Soon, the hissing was gone, and Harry was kneeling under my bed. He brought out a very familiar black and green snake.

"It's Kurri!"

"Kurri?"

"She's my snake! But I haven't seen her since sixth year. She disappeared that year. But why would she come back now?"

"She says that she told you she would come back when you were safe again. Also, she was hurt while getting here. She would allow me to heal her, but she wants me to get your permission to do so."

I nodded. "Heal her if you can, but don't exhaust yourself again."

"This won't take as much energy as it did for me to heal you. Unless she's been cursed, she will be easy to heal."

"If she has been cursed, don't heal her. We will have to find a different method of healing her."

"I promise. I won't exhaust myself. Before, I didn't care. I had nothing to live for. Now, I have the whole world, and I'm holding on as tight as possible." He took my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. I grip onto his hand in return. He smiled then let go. I wanted to hang on, but I knew he needed both of his hands.

He placed them on my snake. Mumbled words later, my Kurri was healed. Harry picked her up and handed her to me. She curled around my neck and went to sleep there.

"Harry, should she be sleeping?"

He nodded. "That probably took a lot out of her. Either she isn't used to magic, or she's just tired from her travels here."

"I just wanted to make sure. Kurri was my only comfort for the longest time."

"I know the feeling."

My confusion must have shown, because Harry smiled sadly.

"My owl, Hedwig. She was killed soon after I brought down Voldemort. The Death Eaters killed her while she was flying home from hunting for revenge. Her dead body was sent back to me. She was my familiar."

"She was? Isn't that supposed to hurt a lot when a familiar is killed?"

"Yes."

"Did it?"

Harry clenched his eyes in remembrance of his pain.

I took his hand. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

"You have no idea. I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy."

"Even me?"

"Especially you." Harry moved to kiss me, but Kurri seemed to wake up. She didn't seem to want Harry near me. She jumped towards Harry and bit him.

I knew Kurri was poisonous. "Harry!"

"I-I'm fine."

"The snake is poisonous!"

"I figured that out."

"Can you heal yourself? I would, but I don't know how! I'm so sorry Harry!"

Harry smiled. "It's fine. Give me five minutes."

I nodded and Harry sat down. I knew then that I was going to lose him. He was going to sit down and take his death.

I was silent, though I wanted to cry. I was going to lose the one person that made my life worth living. Five minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore. "Harry, please heal yourself! I can't lose you!"

Harry stood back up and smiled.

"What just happened? You should be dying!"

The animation fled from Harry's face and tears gathered in his eyes, and I saw his insecurity arise again. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"No! I just can't believe that you are so energetic! I'm relieved! A bit confused, but still relieved!"

Harry smiled again in relief. "Did you ever hear the prophecy made about me?"

"Yes. Lucius told me about it."

"Good. The 'power that the Dark Lord knows not' is my weird and annoying, but bloody useful, ability to heal myself within five minutes. The only thing that can truly kill me is continuous torture."

I couldn't think of anything to say then, and I probably was doing a very good impression of a goldfish. Harry laughed and carefully closed my mouth for me. I shook my head to come back to the present.

"So that's why you healed so fast after you healed me."

Harry nodded. "I also could use up my magic too fast, and then I would die."

"Oh. Wow. I have an incredibly strong love."

Harry flinched slightly, but he tried to conceal it this time. "Yes, you do."

"Harry, you don't have to try and hide your flinching from me. I understand that the word hurts you. I try not to say it for you, but I slipped that time. I'm sorry. I don't want you to have to hide anything from me."

Harry looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Draco. I try so hard to tell you those three words, but I can't. For the longest time, I was told I wasn't worth…," Harry took a deep breath, "loving……, and then when I would someone that I thought, at least, I could trust, she betrayed me. To me, saying that to you would be too much like giving myself up again, and I can't do that again, no matter how very, very much I want to. I'm so sorry."

At some point in that conversation, Kurri had gotten off me and left. "I understand Harry, I truly do. I told you before, and I mean it. I will wait forever for you if I have to. I know that you aren't using me, and that you are devoted to me. I won't deny that I want to hear you say it to me, but I will let you decide when you do."

Harry had tears in his eyes. "Thank you so much, Draco. How could I have ever hated you?"

"I don't know how I did it either." With Kurri gone, I knew this wouldn't be a risk for Harry, so I kissed him, and he kissed back just as passionately.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Ok, this chapter is a bit shorter than the recent chapters, but it is a fast update and I wanted to leave you all with a cliffhanger, so I did. Please read and review! The next chapter will be longer, and for those of you who have reviewed and asked about Kurri, no, the answer is not in this chapter, but I promise that it will be in the next chapter, and I apologize that I told you wrong.

I pulled away and looked at Harry. He cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Want to go watch another movie?"

He smiled. "Sure. What kind?"

"I don't know. You chose last time, so can I choose?"

"Sure. I'll show you where everything is and how to make it play."

I intertwined my fingers into his and brought our enclosed hands to my lips. I kissed his hand and looked him in the eyes. "I heard one time that the spaces in between our fingers are there so that someone else can fill them. For so long, my hands were empty." I hoped he caught on that I meant more than my fingers were empty. I think he understood.

"If that is the case, know that your fingers now have a place. It is in between mine." I smiled with tears in my eyes. Harry was coming up with more and more ways to say that he loves me in the most creative ways. I love that about him.

I smiled, and then remembered something I had been meaning to ask Harry. "Harry, you used to be friends with the Weasley twins, right? What happened to them? You said they were alive, right?"

The humour and happiness in my Harry's eyes was replaced with deep sadness and anger.

I understood. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I didn't mean to ruin the moment. I'm sorry."

Harry took a deep breath. "No. You deserve to know."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do. Draco, Fred and George Weasley were the two people that betrayed me to my relatives. They gave them the knives."

"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry!"

"Are you really?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry is just something most people say when they have nothing else to say. I just want to know. Are you genuine?"

"Harry, I am truly sorry. I do not know what to say to what you just told me, however, I am beyond sorry that you endured betrayal like that."

Harry wrapped his arms around me. "I apologize for doubting you. I should have known that you meant what you said. I have been lied to too many times, and it got the best of me."

I kissed him quickly. "I understand. I still don't know what to say, and I hate that I can't console you."

He smiled slightly. "It's okay. Just tell me what you are honestly feeling, and what you want right now."

I thought about it for a while. I closed my eyes to think. "Hmmm. I feel happy to be in your arms, no beyond happy. There are no words to describe what I feel. Then, I am angry at the Weasley twins for betraying you like that. I want to hurt them like they hurt you. I want to take away all the pain in your life. I would bear it myself if I had to, as long as you didn't have to. I want this whole dark and light thing to end. I want to life a simple and happy life with you forever. I just want to be at peace."

Harry hummed contently. "I am glad you feel that way. I want that too. But, I would never allow you to carry this. I have told you too much already. This is my burden to bear. I should not have allowed someone else to feel what I have had to. I apologize that I have burdened you with my problems." I watched as Harry's eyes lost the love and shine they had and as he grew distant again. I wanted to cry. This couldn't be happening. No, not again!

"Harry, I want to know. I want to be able to help you get through this, and help you heal!"

"No. These are my scars and my burdens." Harry walked off.

I couldn't believe it. Just five minutes ago, Harry and I had been kissing, and now we were practically strangers again. Now, I did cry.

I went to my room. I would never let someone see me like this. Not after Harry humiliated me like that.

A half an hour later, I heard Harry screaming my name.

I ran down to him, hoping that he had changed his mind, but something was off.

"Hun, what's wrong?"

He just snarled. "Don't call me 'Hun'."

"Why not?"

He spun around to face me. Never before had I seen that type of malice on his face, the face that I loved.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Ok, another short chapter, and another cliffhanger! I'm sorry, but this chapter is about the same length as the last one. I was going to wait a bit before I posted again, but I got a review from Danie-Lee09 that made me laugh, and I decided to post a short chapter for you all. Thank you for reading!

_He spun around to face me. Never before had I seen that type of malice on his face, the face that I loved. _

"Don't say you don't know what I mean Draco Malfoy! I trusted you not to hurt me, and I gave myself over to you, even though I was still so broken. My heart was broken, and for a while there, I thought you could be the one to fix it. I don't know how I could have been so naïve."

"Harry," I put my hand on his shoulder, "what-"

"Don't. Touch. Me!" Harry threw my hand off of him.

"Harry?"

"You used me! I trusted you and you used me!"

"What?"

"Your snake, _Malfoy_. She told me everything I needed to know. You're just a playboy. You mean nothing to me, and you never did."

I forgot that he was a Parselmouth. "Harry, I haven't seen that snake since I was in sixth year. And, yes, back then, probably all of those things were true. I was a playboy back then. Then, I realized there was a war going on, and I finally realized the boy I hated was the man I love."

"There's your key word: was."

"No! Harry, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Of course not, because you never say what you mean, right?"

"I have never meant anything so much as I mean it when I say I love you, Harry."

"Save it for the hopeless romantics. I'm leaving you. I will give you a thousand Galleons, and you are to be out of my house by this time tomorrow. Understand?"

I cried. "If that is what you truly want, Harry."

"Good. Goodbye Malfoy."

I mumbled. "That's not even my last name anymore."

But Harry was too far gone to hear me anymore.

I sobbed harder and quieter than I ever had before. I eventually picked myself up and started packing everything I owned, which wasn't much. I was done in an hour. I broke down again, realizing Harry and I had never gone shopping. I gathered the thousand Galleons from Harry and left. I went to the Hog's Head again. Although I could have afforded a better place, I felt that this was where I started, and this is where the chapter of my life with Harry should end. I paid for the same room I had before, and unpacked my belongings once more into the shabby dresser. I thought about the differences in my character since I had last been here.

Last time, I was desperate for protection. I was hurt and willing to find help with the man I hated. Now, I am still desperate, but this time for something greater than myself. I wanted Harry's love back. I had done nothing wrong, and still, I had become hated once more. I felt as if a piece of my heart was missing.

I thought back to when Harry had gained friends and allies with the Slytherins. Not one of them had turned down his offer and none dared to stay enemies with him. I remembered what Blaise said, and I realized that a part of my heart had been ripped out.

Blaise hadn't said boyfriend or husband. He said 'mate.' Did that mean something? I thought only animals had mates. Did 'mate' mean something greater than just love? Did it mean belonging? Because that is exactly how I felt with Harry. I felt like I belonged. I cried myself to sleep that night, and all the nights following.

***

I couldn't believe I bought his story. He just wanted a place to stay and free money. I hated him for it. I thought- I felt like I belonged with him, but he _used _me. He knew how broken I was! I should have known better than to trust a Malfoy. I could never forgive him for this!

These thoughts ran around my head as I sat in my library with my Firewhiskey, waiting for my wards to tell me that _he _had left.

When he had, I quickly stood up and threw the bottle against the wall. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME MALFOY? I TRUSTED YOU! YOU LIED TO ME AND YOU USED ME! **I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!**" I yelled until I felt myself going hoarse. This had to be a horrible dream. This couldn't be real.

I sat down again, and realized that this was very much reality. I refused to cry. Instead I summoned another bottle and decided to drown this day away in Firewhiskey.

The next month consisted of convincing myself I didn't miss him, yelling, and Firewhiskey.

***

I finally allowed myself to leave my room and go shopping in Hogsmede. I convinced myself that I couldn't keep living in the clothes that Harry had given to me. No matter how many times I had them washed, they still smelled like Harry. I couldn't stand his presence anymore.

So, I convinced myself that I was ready to face the world again.

I know now that was a horrible idea and I was deluding myself.

Every shop I would pass, there was something that reminded me of Harry. I passed a Quidditch shop. Harry loved to fly. Harry loved chocolate frogs, and guess what was in the window of Honeydukes? That's right, chocolate frogs. I saw a store that hadn't been there previously, and I almost ran to it. There could be no memories of Harry in a place we had never been, right?

I couldn't be more wrong.

Apparently, Muggle movies are now a big hit in the Wizarding world. And this was the worst store I could have looked into. Get Smart was resting in a velvet bed, showing off to the world. I made a split minute decision and walked into the store. I bought Get Smart and walked out with it close to my chest. People probably thought I was crazy, but I couldn't make myself care.

I went to Madame Malkin's and broke down. This is where I had first seen Harry, and insulted his friend for the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. I was destroyed on the inside, but on the outside, I was the Ice Prince once again.

I purchased my clothes after suffering through the measurements. I walked quickly back to the Hog's Head. It was getting late, so I got in bed and cried myself to sleep. I knew I was going to be louder tonight, so I put up a silencing charm and just cried.

***

I was sitting alone in my library, the one place I used to love, but now it was a place of torture for me. Draco and I used to spend hours in here, just reading to each other and kiss-NO! I would not think about _him_. I turned back to my Firewhiskey and took a long gulp of it. I was not looking forward to spending another night alone.

Damn it! I thought I could trust him! I told him that I was betrayed and broken, and he took advantage of it! More Firewhiskey found its way into my system. I allowed two tears to fall from my eyes.

"What do we have here? The Golden Boy, crying with a bottle of Firewhiskey? Well, I never thought I'd see the day."

I spun around. I thanked whoever was watching over me that I wasn't yet too drunk to still be in touch with my reflexes.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Ok everyone! As promised, no cliffhanger in this chapter, and it's longer! Yay for me! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please review!

*Update: Thank you to Danie-Lee09 for the spelling on Veritserum. I owe ya!

_I spun around. I thanked whoever was watching over me that I wasn't yet too drunk to still be in touch with my reflexes. _

"Lucius. How did you get here?"

"My _dear _son is very easily convinced."

Great, Draco had betrayed me to his father. I should have known.

"He never bothers to check if his pets are really animagi."

I thought it over. I was slower than normal because of the alcohol. "So you were Kurri all along?"

"No." He sneered. "I killed the dirty thing two years ago."

Everything clicked for me. Draco wasn't a playboy. He hadn't cheated. He meant everything he said to me that night when I threw him out. I felt an overpowering sense of guilt. I hurt Draco because I wouldn't listen.

"Yes. Now you have hurt my _son _and he will never know what happened to his precious lover. I went and watched him for a bit. I thought about killing him, but I want him to have to live with the fact that his boyfriend is dead."

"You're sick and twisted."

"I know. I'm so glad you noticed. I've been working on it for so long!" Lucius' smiled was deranged. "And now I'm going to kidnap you and continuously torture you until you die. "

"You were Kurri that day. You tried to kill me then!"

"Yes, and thank my Dark Lord that I did. Otherwise you would keep healing yourself after my torture. Now, we couldn't have that, now could we?"

"You could have been such a powerful wizard. Now you're just corrupting yourself. Why did you run to Voldemort? You could have had all the power in the world, now you have practically none."

"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE! WE ARE MORE POWERFUL," I let him carry on while I silently found the letter I had written during the war with Voldemort. It basically said that I had been captured. It was addressed to Hermione and Ron, but I quickly changed that to Draco. I filled in the blank I had left for my captor's name, and added a P.S. at the bottom. I did this all with magic of course so that Lucius wouldn't know what I was doing.

The letter was visible to only the intended reader and anyone he showed it to. I only hoped my P.S. would make him understand.

***

Just as I was about to cry myself asleep, there was a tapping at my window. I looked, but there was no owl. I thought it to be someone in another room; I was at the Hog's Head after all, so I tried to ignore it. Then, I heard someone say my name. I thought I was imagining things until I saw a white object floating outside my window. I quickly let the thing in before someone saw.

I carefully unfolded the letter, hoping it was from Harry.

My heart leapt when I saw his handwriting.

Then the words registered.

_Draco,_

_I am being taken by Lucius. I need you to help me. This paper will be connected to me and will give you directions. Hurry, please, don't hurt yourself. Please help me._

_Harry_

So he kicked me out, and still expected me to save his butt. I shook my head and threw the paper in the fire.

Then I saw the P.S. I quickly grabbed the parchment, but it was singed in places.

_P.S. Draco, I understand. I am so sorry I wouldn't listen to you. Your father--Kurri. He fed me lies, and I was all too ready to believe him. I am-- sorry, and I understand if you never want to hold----, but I am begging for your fo----veness. If I get out of this mess alive, I will throw myself to my knees and beg you to forgive me. I know sorry is never enough, but it is all I can give for now. _

_I wish I could write novels of how sorry I am, and what I will do to make it up to you, but I can only keep him ranting for so ---ng. If you ignore this, wel--- I don't blame you, then I want you to know that I --- you, and that I am so sorry. Goodbye, if that is the case._

I melted. I knew I had to save him. I looked over the P.S. one more time, this time noticing something I had missed before.

The fire had burnt out the word 'love.' How very appropriate. Even in a possible death letter, I still didn't get to hear/read Harry say he loves me.

I apparated to the Ministry again.

"Can I help you?"

"I need a team of Aurors to help me!"

"Name?"

Why was she so calm?! "Draco Malfoy."

I saw her tense up, but she nodded. I thanked Harry silently for pardoning me. "Why do you need said Aurors?"

"Lucius Malfoy has captured Harry Potter! I-We need to get him from there as soon as possible!"

"Your father kidnapped Head Auror Potter?"

I growled. "That monster will never be my father. Get me some Aurors right now!"

The woman nodded and spoke into a device on her desk. "Can I get a team of Aurors to the front desk?"

I finally relaxed a bit. Help was coming.

I tensed right back up again when I felt something against my neck. Someone had bound me. "What's going on?"

"You are under arrest for Death Eater activities and threatening a Ministry worker. Anything you say can be and will be held against you in a court of law."

I relaxed, knowing that struggling would not help my case. "Will you please listen to me? Someone will die if you don't."

"People die every day, Mr. Malfoy."

"He's not supposed to die. Would you really risk your Head Auror's life?"

"Head Auror Potter is in trouble?"

"Yes. I need you to save him, please. I don't care what you do with me, just please save him and tell me that he is okay."

"This is very serious."

I wanted to scream out and question why he was still standing here then, but I didn't. I knew it wouldn't help anything.

"Will you repeat your statement under Veritserum?"

"Yes."

"Will you submit to questioning?"

"If it will save Harry's life, then yes."

"Very well. You will be put into a holding cell while we question you, and all during the rescue. Auror Potter will decide your final fate."

I nodded. "Let's get this over with."

I was taken into a cell and dosed with Veritserum.

"What is your first and last name?"

"Draco. My last name was Malfoy." I heard myself say in a monotone.

The Auror looked confused but nodded and continued. "What is your relationship with the Head Auror?"

"I love him."

I saw the questioner's eyebrows disappear into his hairline, and shift from side to side. I rolled my eyes. "How do you know where he is?"

"I got a letter from him. He told me he was being kidnapped, so he sent it to me."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. He told me that the letter he sent would give directions to me." That was stretching the truth, but as long as I perceived it as true, it was. I didn't want anyone to read what he had written. That was for me only.

"So you must come with us?"

"Yes."

"Alright." The questioner gave me the antidote, and I swallowed it gratefully. "Come with me. If what you say is true, you will know where Lucius Malfoy has taken Head Auror Potter, correct? Do you really need the directions?"

"Yes. Not until we get to Malfoy Manor" I knew exactly where Harry would be. The very same place I had been tortured.

"You will be required to wear these cuffs if you are going to come with us."

I hated it, but I nodded. "Please. We have to leave soon. Lucius will have had plenty of time to torture him already." I forced the words to come up. I was sure they sounded choked.

"Of course." The Auror put his wand to his throat. "**All members of Head Auror Harry Potter's first squad, please come to the front door."**

I looked at him questioningly. I knew, that as Head Auror, Harry would have had to have more than one squad. Plus, the man had said 'first'.

"The squad that Auror Potter will most likely trust. He may be traumatized."

I nodded. Maybe this Auror did have some sense. "Are you part of this squad?"

"Yes."

By then, all the Aurors were there. "Grab on!" The surrounding Aurors all grabbed onto the man who talked to me. He turned to me. "You have to apparate us there. It will not take any more of your energy than apparating normally."

I nodded, closed my eyes, placed my bound hands on the Auror's, and apparated to Malfoy Manor.

Once we were there, I opened my eyes and pulled out the letter. There was suddenly a large red arrow on the page. "This way."

***

I felt the connection to the letter dying, and I knew Draco had refused to save me. A part of me died then. I knew, by the end of the night, I would be gone from this world.

Lucius walked in and smirked at me. He wasted no time talking and threw the Cruciatus Curse at me. He held it continuously. Each and every one of my nerves was on fire. I was being slowly ripped apart from the inside out. Then, when I thought it could be no worse, Lucius pulled out another wand, and suddenly, there were fresh cuts and gashed all down my body. When Lucius stopped that curse, the Cruciatus was doubled. Then, he pulled out a knife.

I recognized the knife. When I had healed Draco, I saw it. I had to know what the object was before I could heal it. Now, I was about to experience more than just seeing the weapon.

Eternities later, when I thought I couldn't handle it anymore, I felt something new, something that I thought I would never feel again.

I felt hope. I knew Draco's presence nearing my own. The letter was guiding him.

I sent some of my power to the letter to fix the burnt spots.

And then, in a sense of relief, I blacked out, oblivious to everything but the pain.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Here's the next chapter! This one has a semi-cliffhanger. Once again, thank you to Danie-Lee09 for the spelling last chapter.

Also, I'm looking for a beta, just for another brain to look over my work. If you'd like to take a shot at it, I'll send you a piece of my work, with intentional spelling errors over private messages, and the person who finds the most will be my beta. I might possible take more than one. That is, if I get any offers..... Please? Thank you for reading, in any case. Also, please read the author's note at the end of the chapter! Thank you again!

"Come on! We're almost there!" I ran ahead and followed the letter. I was right. Harry was held in the exact same cell I was. I slowly crept in and saw what Lucius was doing to Harry. I screamed out a Stunning spell. Lucius fell to the floor, and I ran to Harry. I never registered that I did it wandlessly. I was too focused on Harry.

I thought of how much I needed to save Harry. I hoped I was strong enough to do this, and I placed my hands on Harry. I focused the intense feeling of healing I was feeling being in his presence again on his wounds, and hoped that he would respond somehow. I focused on the knife wounds first. I knew they were from the same knife I had been tortured with. I also tried to heal the old wounds, but there was something blocking my need to heal Harry. I kept trying anyway. I saw my vision going black, and I knew I was exhausting myself, but I knew I had to keep going. I did, until all of the abnormal wounds were gone.

I pulled away, extremely weak, but still up. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I looked around and noticed there were two other people in Harry's cell. They were redheads. I turned to the awestruck Aurors behind me. "I cannot do any more magic for a while. Please heal the rest. He was tortured with the Cruciatus and probably whipped repeatedly. Please heal him. There are two more people over there. Heal them then put them in custody. They, helped……almost kill……. Harry." And then I fell asleep, next to my Harry once more.

I woke up in a holding cell. I sat up, and noticed I was chained to the bedpost. Great. I wondered why I was suddenly less trustworthy. I thought back to last night, and remembered what I did. I had taken out my 'father' and healed cursed wounds wandlessly. I fell back down into the bed. I couldn't process that I had actually done that.

When I had recovered from my shock, I was noticed by my guard. He nodded and walked over to me. "You aren't a criminal, are you?"

"No. I refused everything those _monsters _wanted me to do."

"And they let you?"

"Of course not!"

"Oh. Well, I just want you to know that I didn't agree with this treatment of you." He indicated the chains. "You healed our Head Auror and brought down our Most Wanted Criminal. Everyone else thought it was because you wanted to replace him. I think that you were too focused on our Head Auror. I think you should be hailed, not chained."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Unfortunately, you will have to wait until our Head Auror is well enough to decide your fate. You have to stay here until that time."

"How is he?"

"He is weak, but better off than we expected. He shows no signs of trauma, except when someone mentioned your name."

"What do you mean?"

"When he heard your name, he curled in on himself and started saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again. Some idiot got it into their head to keep saying your name, so sometimes he would say 'Please forgive me,' or other variations, but that is all. He won't speak to anyone about why he says that. When he is asked, he only demands to see you."

I brushed aside my anger at the idiot he had mentioned. Harry was more important. "Why isn't he here then?"

"I was sent to make sure you wouldn't hurt him."

"I would never hurt him."

"I know that, but others are more wary."

"Please send him here. I need to see him."

"I will. We will be right back."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was going to see my Harry again!

When they brought him to me, I almost cried in relief. I wondered how he was strong enough to wear his glamours again.

"Draco!"

I smiled. "Hello Harry."

"I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you! I am so sorry!"

"Harry, I forgive you. It's okay. I don't blame you. You had every right to believe that. I was horrible to you for the longest time. There should be some doubt, but I hope it is gone by now?" I realized I was begging, but I didn't care. I placed my hands flat on the bars separating us, hoping that Harry would get the message. He did.

Harry put his hands on top of mine, and I could almost believe I was alone with him again, and that I wasn't being imprisoned for going after the man I love. Almost."I will never doubt you ever again."

I smiled again. I hated that I wasn't able to actually hold his hand. I was about to say so, but I saw something change in Harry again. He became the walking stone I had seen only twice before, at the end of our fifth year, and when he thought I had cheated. I couldn't lose him, not again!

Harry spun around to the guard behind him. "Let him go." I quickly breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that Harry wasn't mad at me, or, worse, at himself. He was turned into stone by my wardens.

"Are you sure that is a good idea? He is a criminal!"

"He led you to the Most Wanted Criminal's house and brought him down single-handedly, and then healed me completely. He is _not _a criminal."

"He is dangerous! He can do powerful wandless magic!"

"I have no idea how I did that, if it means anything. I don't think I could do it again."

"Shut up, filth."

Harry spun on him once again and pushed him against the wall. He was the growling animal again. "_Never call him that again! He is innocent. You will release him now, or I__ will__ have you removed._"

"Y-Y-Yes, Head Auror Potter."

Harry smiled, but it was creepy. "Thank you. After you set him free, you will leave us. I will escort him back home."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Do it now."

As soon as I was free, I ran into Harry's open arms.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm so sorry I doubted you. I should have known," I silenced him with a kiss.

"I know. And I forgave you. Put it behind us. Forget about it."

Harry smiled again, but I knew he never would forgive himself. "Alright I will. Thank you."

I grabbed his hand. "Would you mind escorting me home now?"

He smiled. "Of course, I would hate to neglect my duties. Let's go home." He kissed me.

I smiled and felt everything mend again. "I missed that."

"Me too." He kissed me again and then led me up stairs and out of the building. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Then we apparated to his Manor.

"I could have apparated myself."

Harry shrugged. "I prefer to hold you. Is that okay?"

I nodded. "I'm perfectly okay with it. I just wanted to make sure you knew." I smiled.

Harry chuckled.

I wanted this happy moment to last, but I had to know. "Harry, can we go lay down somewhere? I want to talk to you seriously."

Harry nodded and we walked to his bedroom, still holding hands. That was a good sign at least.

Once we were both in his bed, he started playing with my hair. It was very comforting. I looked up into his eyes. I saw only self-loathing there. I began. "Harry, you know I forgive you, but," I felt tears beginning to form cautiously from the sides of my eyes. I took a deep breath and forced the tears away, "did you mean it when you said that you hated me and that I was just a playboy? Did you mean it when you said that I mean nothing to you?"

"No! Draco, I was upset and told you things that were the farthest from the truth. I am so sorry that you had to hear those things. I should have never said them." Silent tears poured down his face.

"It's alright. I just wanted to make sure that I meant something to you."

"You mean everything to me!"

"Thank you, Harry."

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

I couldn't believe it! He told me he loved me! I smiled and kissed him. The kiss was more passionate than I have ever given. When I pulled away, I kissed the tears still running down his face before I wiped them away. "I love you too." He smiled.

We snuggled closer and fell asleep in each other's arms. I was in heaven.

I woke up before Harry. I smiled. He looked so much calmer when he slept. He started to stir, so I kissed both of his eyelids before he woke up. He opened his eyes and smiled back at me. "Good morning."

"Good morning love." There was no flinch. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well? That was the best I have ever slept."

I kissed him. "I'm glad."

He moved closer to me. "Hmmm. So what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. Just staying like this sounds pretty good."

"It sounds good to me too."

Harry groaned.

"What?"

"I have to go back to work tomorrow."

"Do you have to?"

"Yes. I don't want to lose my job!"

"You don't have to work, you know. Since I captured Lucius, I actually did inherit the Malfoy fortune. You don't have to work if you don't want to. I can pay for both of us, and we would be living comfortably."

"I know that, but I feel like I have to. I couldn't stand being here all day."

"Oh. I didn't know that's how you felt." I felt a horrible sinking feeling. I held back the tears in my eyes.

"I wouldn't be able to stay here all day, every-Oh! Draco! No baby, I didn't mean it like that! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to imply that I couldn't stand being around you! I love spending time with you!"

"You don't have to lie to me, Harry. I don't know why I thought that we would spend some time together. Forgive me for thinking that you wanted to." I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I started sobbing.

"Draco, baby, shhhhh. I am so sorry that I implied that! I want to spend forever with you!" He pulled me close and I cried into his chest. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"You mean that? You do want to spend time with me?"

"Of course I do! I love you! I'm going to send in my papers saying I quit as soon as I'm done comforting you. You will always be my first priority."

"Harry, if working makes you happy, then I want you to do it."

"No. I need you to know that I love you and will always put you first."

"I want you to work if you want to."

"How about a compromise?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I will take next month off too, and then go back to work for a month. The next month, I'll take off work. That way, my time is distributed evenly and we are both happy."

"I think that sounds good."

"Besides, I still haven't taught you to do wandless magic!"

I laughed. "You want to?"

"Of course!"

"I don't think I'm powerful enough for that!"

"Draco, look at me." I did. "You healed me without blacking out, when you had just before stunned an extremely powerful wizard. I think you have more power than I do!"

I was awestruck. "That cannot be true."

"It is, love."

"I didn't know what I was doing!"

"That's where I come in. I'll teach you to know what you're doing."

"Fine, but I have to give you something back."

"I know what you can give me."

"What's that?"

"I'll tell you soon, okay?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Is it going to be something I regret later?"

"I definitely hope not!"

"Okay. I'll trust you with this."

"Thank you."

I was about to settle back into Harry's arms when the alarm went off again.

I groaned. "Not again."

A/N Who is it? Silverstargirl, can you guess who it is this time? Anyone else care to take a guess? Let's make this interesting. If anyone can guess correctly, I'll write a oneshot for them, pairing and circumstances of their choosing. Anyone game?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, this chapter has some unexpected turns in it, at least I think so. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Also, congratulations to Silverstargirl, who rose to my challenge and correctly guessed the intruder. *grumbles in a corner* =) Anyway, Silverstargirl, just tell me what you want the one shot to be about, and as soon as I have time, I'll write it for you.

Now, without further ado, here is chapter 13; enjoy.

"There's a Weasley on the grounds."

"The twins? By the way, Harry, they were in the cell with you. They looked as if they had been there for a while."

"Really? Interesting. Where are they now?"

"Hopefully in a holding cell at the Ministry."

"Hopefully?"

"I asked the Aurors to. I don't know if they did or not."

"Well, they did everything else you asked them to, so why not? For now, let's assume that they are."

"So if it's not the twins,"

"That leaves Percy or _her._ Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are programmed into the wards."

I hoped beyond hope that it was Percy.

Harry held out his hand. "Come on. Let's go see who it is."

I nodded and allowed him to pull me out of bed.

We walked to a window that would allow us to see the front yard. There was no one. We walked downstairs, and standing there was the Weaslette herself. I guessed she still had a key, since Harry probably hadn't changed the locks since then.

"_Ginny. _What do you want?"

"Harry! It's so horrible! Seamus has been cheating on me! He has ever since we got together! I don't know what to do!"

Harry sneered. "Oh really? And what do you expect me to do about it?"

"I want to come back! I miss you!"

"Sorry, Weaslette, he's taken."

"By who, Malfoy?"

"Me." I took Harry's hand in mine.

"You're _involved _with him? Is he good?"

"Are you implying that I'm using him?"

"Of course! Why else would you be with him?"

"Well, _Ginny,_ there's this certain emotion called love. I'm sure you've never felt it, but I love him. That's why I'm with him!"

"I know what love is Harry! I love you!"

"No you don't! If you did, you would have never left me! Although I must thank you, because if you hadn't left me, I would have never gotten together with Draco!" I felt Harry tense up. I squeezed his hand to reassure him that it would be okay.

"You have to be kidding me! You hate him! You always told me that you couldn't wait to hurt him! Oh! That's what you're doing! You're going to get close to him and then break his heart! Smart Harry!"

Harry ripped his hand out of mine and charged at the mold growing in his entryway. He slapped her across the face. "No. I love him, damn it! Get that through your cheating head. I love him, and I will never use anyone the way you used me!"

"Harry, please. I love you!"

Harry pulled something out of his pocket. "Here's Muggle money. It's called a quarter. Go put it in a phone booth and call someone who cares. Come on Draco. We don't need to hear anymore of her lies. Weasley, you have thirty seconds to get out of here, otherwise you will be removed, and it will be painful."

"Harry, please, let me back in!"

"A cheater is always a cheater. I've got Draco and my pride, so what do you have? Thirty seconds."

Weaselette continued to stand there stubbornly.

Harry turned to me and shrugged. "Her funeral." Then we walked away holding hands.

Once we got back to his bedroom, I pushed him against the wall and kissed him. "Thank you for standing up for me like that." I spoke to his lips.

"It came naturally. I knew what I needed to do, and I knew I needed to correct her." His breath tickled my lips, so I kissed him again.

"I love you so much."

"Merlin I love you so much more."

"I never get tired of hearing that from you."

"Draco, I've only said it maybe three times."

"And every time I fall more and more in love with you. Every time, I get a rush and all I want to do is make you feel what I feel. I feel like I'm flying."

"That has to be the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me."

"Really? I thought that was cheesy."

"Nothing you say to me like that will be cheesy."

"Thank you. Harry, I love you so much. I never want to lose you." I pulled him to me and he relaxed against my chest.

"I don't want to lose you either."

We held each other close for a couple more seconds before an owl came flying in thru an open window and landed on Harry's shoulder. "If this is from Ginny, I am going to track her down and make her understand that I am not taking her back."

I looked up at Harry. "You wouldn't kill her, right? I don't want to have to see you go to Azkaban."

"No, I wouldn't go that far. Close, but not that far."

I smiled. "Okay."

Harry opened the letter. "It's from the Ministry." He read over the letter. "We have to go back there."

"Why?"

"Apparently the Twins are requesting a meeting with me, and they refuse to talk to anyone else."

I growled. "I want to see them punished for what they did to you."

"I do too. Let's go."

This time, I grabbed Harry and pulled him close. I sensed that he needed the closeness, and he was too distracted by the letter to properly apparate himself.

Harry, of course, landed gracefully, even in his distraction. I managed to only fall to my knees this time. Harry pulled me up, and we walked until we were met by a guard. "Come this way, Mr. Potter. Your accomplice must stay here."

Harry pulled me to his side. "He stays with me."

The guard narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded anyway. "Fine, follow me." We walked through the Ministry until we came to the darkest place I think I have ever seen. One torch was lit and handed to Harry. The guard nodded to us as he opened the door. "I will be just outside this door. If you need anything, knock twice."

Harry nodded slightly, and then we entered the hole of darkness. We both unconsciously grabbed each other's hand tighter. This place brought back unwanted memories and I needed Harry. I am sure he felt the same way.

We eventually came to a barred room. Sitting there were two dirty forms. "Fred and George Weasley. You betray me and then ask to meet me? Don't you think you're above me? Why lower yourselves and talk to me?"

"Harry." A raspy voice arose from the darkness. "Harry, we didn't do anything. We were captured so, so long ago, and have been in this cell ever since. We don't know why you are in a Death Eater's home, or why we are suddenly healed, but we never betrayed you." The voice coughed for a while after his speech.

"I am wary to believe you, but I will check your story. I will return with news of your condemning or freedom soon."

"Harry, how is our family? How are Ron and Ginny? Our other brothers?"

"Your parents, Percy, and _Ginny _are all alive."

"No. How?"

"Ron died Sixth year. I was up in the library looking for information on... Voldemort. Ron was sleeping. They crept up on him and killed him. They thought he was me, so they killed him. I came back to the dorm just in time to see the flashing green light. He was never in any pain. However," Harry's pained voice turned into an angry mess. "The Death Eaters felt every pain possible that night before I killed them too. Charlie was killed by a dragon that became angry when a Death Eater tried to Stun it. It was my idea to bring the dragons in. Everyone else died in the war. I was the reason for all of their deaths. Percy is alive because he and the then-Minister were too cowardly to fight. _Ginny_ is still alive because she wasn't allowed to fight. I wouldn't let her, and neither would your parents."

"Because you love her."

"I used to."

"What do you mean?"

"She broke me for a time. Then I met the most wonderful person in the world, and he loves me just as much as I love him."

"Who's that?"

"You will not know until you are proven innocent. I would like memories of your capture." Harry tossed a wand to them. "This wand will not work for anything harmful in any way, nor will it allow you escape."

The twins both retrieved their memories and put them in vials before handing both the vials and the wand back to Harry. "Very well. We shall return soon."

Harry pulled me out of the Ministry and back to his Manor without saying anything. I knew this had shaken him. He thought the twins had betrayed him, and now he was finding out that maybe they were innocent. I was worried about him and wanted him to know that I was here if he wanted to talk, but I knew he needed the silence, so I kept it.

Eternities later, Harry spoke. "Were they telling the truth?"

"I don't know, Harry, but I will do anything I can to help you find out."

"I need to think about this alone. Would you mind talking to Molly and Arthur for me? I'll give you a letter to give them so they'll trust you."

I wished I could have just apparated over there; that I had their trust; that I hadn't tormented them for as long as I knew them. I knew I couldn't change anything, no matter how much I wanted to, so I nodded. "I will."

"Thank you." Harry quickly scribbled something on paper and handed it to me folded. I nodded to him and apparated away. I hoped this wasn't a bad idea.

I arrived at the Weasley's home and waited. Surely they still had wards that would alert them?

They did. A brief time later, an old man and a woman with thinning red hair appeared at the door. "Who are you?"

"I am Draco."

"Draco Malfoy? Why are you here? How do you know of this location?"

I wanted to tell them that I had lost the 'right' to bear that last name, but I decided that could wait for later. "Harry sent me."

"Do you have proof?"

"I have a letter from him."

"Bring it here. But make sure your hands are always in plain sight."

I nodded and walked forward. I handed the letter to them and stepped back a bit. I watched as they read over the letter. The woman had tears in her eyes.

"Come in, Draco."

"Thank you." I was suddenly curious as to what Harry's letter said that could make them so accepting of my presence.

"Harry wrote that you had some questions?"

"Yes. They are about your twin sons."

"What do you know about Fred and George?"

"I know that Harry has hated them for a while because they betrayed him and gave some cursed knives to his relatives."

"My boys would never do that!"

"There's more. Harry thought that they had, until we found them in a prison cell in Malfoy Manor. Now before you go making accusations at me, I was disowned for refusing to accept the 'New Dark Lord.' I never knew about the Twins in the dungeons. Lucius always kept that information close to him, and I learned to never ask."

"How did you find them?"

"Harry was put into a cell close to theirs. How long have they been missing?"

"For too long. I would guess for about three and a half years, why?"

"Harry's betrayal was two years ago. So unless the Twins were hiding and then captured, it couldn't have been them. There was enough dirt on them to last three years."

"Draco, when will we get to see our sons again?"

I don't know what happened, but I suddenly wanted to know how she felt. I wanted to love someone so much that I would feel the desperation in her voice if that someone were lost. I wanted a child of my own. That had never happened before. My voice shook as I replied. "S-soon. Harry is gathering evidence to either condemn them or free them. He is distrustful of releasing them."

"We understand. But, please, bring my babies back home, even if it is only for a short time."

I nodded. I would do at least that for the desperate woman.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N okay, only a few events in this chapter worth mentioning, but the chapter seems to have found a place in my heart. I love this chapter, and it would mean a lot to me if you guys liked it too.

*****PLEASE READ*** **This chapter has two songs in it, and I claim no credit whatsoever for them. They are the property of the writers and Kenny Chesney and Mark Wills. Please listen to them while reading. It enhances the moment. The songs are Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney, and I Do (Cherish You) by Mark Wills. They appear in that order, so please listen to them while you read. Thank you much!

Oh, and I still don't own the world I am writing about. That belongs to JK Rowling. That disclaimer, as well as the one in the first chapter, apply to the rest of the story. Thank you, and now, enjoy!

I apparated back to Harry's Manor to hear soft music playing from somewhere. I wondered where it was coming from. I assumed Harry was listening to another Muggle invention. I decided to surprise him and maybe he would dance with me. I followed the sound of the music until I came upon the library. I quietly opened the door, and I couldn't believe what I saw.

Harry was playing the guitar. The music I thought was by a professional was being played and sang by my boyfriend! I listened to what he was singing.

**Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
I wear the pain like a heavy coat  
I feel you everywhere I go  
I see your smile, I see your face  
I hear you laughing in the rain  
I still can't believe you're gone**

It ain't fair you died too young  
Like the story that had just begun  
But death tore the pages all away  
God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through  
Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today

Would you see the world?  
Would you chase your dreams?  
Settle down with a family?  
I wonder what would you name your babies?  
Some days the sky's so blue  
I feel like I can talk to you  
And I know it might sound crazy

It ain't fair you died too young  
Like the story that had just begun  
But death tore the pages all away  
God knows how I miss you  
All the hell that I've been through  
Just knowing no one could take your place  
Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today

**Today, Today, Today  
Today, Today, Today**

Sunny days seem to hurt the most  
I wear the pain like a heavy coat  
The only thing that gives me hope  
Is I know I'll see you again someday

Someday, Someday

(Kenny Chesney, 'Who You'd Be Today').

When Harry stopped singing and playing, I had tears in my eyes. I knew who the song was for. He still blamed himself for everyone's death. I silently walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him. He fell back into me and cried.

"You weren't supposed to see this."

"I'm glad I did. You needed that. You have a beautiful voice you know."

"Are you sure you're not just biased?"

"I might be, but I know talent when I hear it, and you have a ton of talent."

"The funny thing is I'd trade it all if I had everyone back and life was back to normal. The only thing I wouldn't change is you and me."

"I know. I wish they were all here for you too, and I am so sorry that they can't be."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." There was a comfortable silence for a while. "Hey Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Will you play me a song?"

Harry smiled slowly. "Sure." He sat up and put his guitar back on his lap.

**All I am, all I'll be  
Everything in this world, all that I'll ever need  
Is in your eyes, shining at me  
When you smile I can feel all my passion unfolding**

Your hand brushes mine  
And a thousand sensations seduce me 'cause I

I do, cherish you  
For the rest of my life  
You don't have to think twice  
I will, love you still, from the depths of my soul  
It's beyond my control  
I've waited so long to say this to you  
If you're asking do I love you this much, I do

In my world before you  
I lived outside my emotions  
Didn't know where I was going  
Until that day I found you  
How you opened my life to a new paradise

In a world torn by change  
Still with all of my heart, until my dying day

I do, cherish you  
For the rest of my life  
You don't have to think twice  
I will, love you still, from the depths of my soul  
It's beyond my control  
I've waited so long to say this to you  
If you're asking do I love you this much, yes I do

I've waited so long to say this to you  
So, if you're asking if I love you this much, I do  
Oh, I do

(Mark Wills, 'I Do(Cherish You)').

Harry stopped singing, and I took his guitar. I put it on the ground. He looked up at me, surprised and hurt. "You didn't like it?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I lurched at him and kissed him until neither of us could breathe. "I loved it. I just didn't want to break your guitar."

"Good." Harry smiled.

"When did you learn to play?"

"I taught myself. When Sirius died, I inherited everything. I was looking around, and I found this. It was my dad's. The song I played for you is the first song I played that wasn't about all them."

"Thank you Harry."

"You're welcome. I'm glad that I was able to play for you."

"I'm glad you did." I smiled.

"Come here." Harry stood up and held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me up.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to look at the stars."

"Really?"

"Do you not want to?"

"If it's with you, I'd jump off a cliff."

Harry laughed. "Well, I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon."

"Okay, so that was a little extreme, but I think you got the point, right?"

"Yes, I got the point. I'm glad. Come on." Harry pulled me outside and conjured a blanket. We laid down on it and looked up at the stars. Harry pointed out some Muggle constellations, and I showed him some of the Wizarding World's constellations. We were both getting tired, when there was a bright flash across the sky.

"Harry, was that a shooting star?"

He nodded. "Make a wish!"

I closed my eyes and wished.

When I was done, I looked over at Harry. He looked like he was pleading with someone. He opened his eyes suddenly, and I jumped at the intensity of the emeralds.

"What did you wish for?" Harry's voice seemed almost… worried?

"That you would be happy." I grabbed his hand. "What about you?"

"Hopefully, it will come true."

"What?" I asked what he wished for, right?

I sucked in breath when I refocused on Harry. He was kneeling on the ground with a small velvet box. "Draco, I know it hasn't been that long since we got together, but I feel like I've never felt before when I'm with you. I want to know that I'll always have that feeling, and that I'll always have you. Draco, will you marry me?"

I pulled Harry to his feet. "Yes." Harry's smile was never so radiant. We kissed, but this was like nothing I have ever felt. I knew I was making the right decision, and that I belonged with Harry forever. I felt him slip something on my hand. It was a golden wedding ring with emeralds and rubies all along the body of it. I was glad it wasn't at all feminine. I looked at Harry to see he had a matching one, but his was silver instead of golden.

"Why is mine gold and yours silver?"

"Red and gold, silver and green, two different houses, joined as one."

"Harry, that's so sweet! I love them!" Everything made sense, and I'm glad that Harry had put our house loyalties into consideration when planning this. He had shown how thoughtful he was.

"You like them? I was so worried that it would seem tacky or that you wouldn't like the rings, or that something would go wrong with," I kissed him.

"You worry too much. I love them."

"Good." He kissed me again. I was wrong before. This was heaven. "We have to look at the Twin's memories tomorrow. I was going to do it today, but I don't want this moment to end."

"I don't either. We'll do it tomorrow."

"Alright."

We laid back down and looked back up at the stars.

"You know Draco, there's one constellation that I didn't point out to you."

"Yeah, and which one's that?"

He took my hand and pointed it up to the sky. "That one. The Dragon star. It's called Draco."

"Really? You're not making that up?"

"Never. It has been called Draco for as long as the stars have been in the sky."

I felt like my mouth was going to fall off my face. I had never smiled so much in one day, but I had never been so happy to be in this discomfort. This was the best day of my life. "I love you so much, Harry."

"This is so surreal. I can't believe I'm engaged to you. This is the best day of my life. I love you too."

"I can't believe it either. I never thought my life would turn out like this. When we were in school, I always dreamed of being Voldemort's right-hand man. I thought that I hated you and that some way; I would be the most powerful wizard ever. I would over-throw the Dark Lord and take over the world. Then I saw my proud father bowing and kissing the robes of that mad man the day I was supposed to be marked. I saw then that the Death Eaters were no more than disposable servants. I ran. Lucius eventually found me, and I was brought before the Dark Lord, and I was punished. I eventually ran again, but this time, I was taken in by this wonderful man that I still had some resentment for. I found out that he wasn't who I thought he was. He is caring, funny, and so loving, but he has a horrible past, and the scars are still there. I knew soon that I wanted to be the one to help this wonderful man heal his scars. Harry, will you let me?"

Harry nodded hesitantly, and I could tell that this was a big step for him. I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you, Draco. I needed to hear that. I love you."

"I love you too. Harry, I will always be here when you need me, whether it is for a lover, support, or just someone to talk to, I will always listen. Please open up to me. I know that the war is still affecting you, but you have to know that it is not your fault that they are gone."

"Draco, can we please talk about this later? This is supposed to be happy. Please?"

I nodded. "Alright. Please just stop blaming yourself for that okay?"

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask for."

Harry smiled and stood. "Come on. It's getting late. Let's go to bed."

I nodded and took Harry's hand as he pulled me up. We walked in comfortable silence together until the hall where our paths spilt. My room was to the left and Harry's to the right. I dropped his hand to go to my room, but Harry's stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

"My room?"

"Why? Our room is this way."

I was confused for a half a second. Then I understood. Harry wanted me to share his room! I smiled once again. "Of course."

Harry laughed and took my hand again. We changed into night clothes and lay together in bed. My life was taking a turn for the better. I am truly happy with Harry. We fell asleep in each other's arms, and I couldn't even find an emotion that explained how happy I was at this moment. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard Harry mumble. "I love you so much, Draco. You have changed my life around in more ways than you know. Thank you."

I smiled and fell asleep, knowing that I would be safe here.

I woke up to complete darkness, and I was cold! Harry must have pulled all the blankets to himself! I went to pull some back to myself, but I realized I was sitting on something hard. I looked down and became very confused. I was sitting on concrete. My eyes had adjusted now, and I realized where I was. Malfoy Manor, in the dungeons. I was tied to the floor. I started to have a panic attack. What happened? Why hadn't Harry's wards alerted us to my captor? Where was Harry? I quickly looked around, trying to find him. I twisted around, and still saw nothing. The door opened, and a bright light shone in front of me. There he was. As soon as I saw him, I wished I hadn't. He was hanging from two wooden posts. His arms were spread and tied to the posts, as were his legs. He looked fine, except for the fact that he was tied to two posts. I looked up to see if he was awake, and I cried out at what I saw. His head was hanging three feet above his body.

I heard cold chuckling. "You like what you see?"

If I hadn't been already on the ground, I would have fallen over. I'd know that voice from anywhere. Lucius Malfoy. "What did you do to him?"

"Simply what he deserved."

"Harry didn't deserve any of this! He _deserves _to be left alone!"

Lucius laughed. "Do you want to know the amusing thing?"

I growled.

"You killed him!"

"NO!" I felt shaking. Was this a new curse? It didn't matter. I killed the man I loved. Nothing could cause me more pain than the pain I was in now.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N Okay, fairly long chapter this time! We are nearing the end of the portion of my story that I had planned, so I am giving you fair warning that in a couple chapters, it might take me longer to update. Please be patient with me. I am trying to keep up, but life keeps getting in the way. *scowls* But for now, there will still be frequent updates, so please enjoy!

"Draco! Draco, wake up!"

Wake up? I realized my eyes were closed. I slowly opened my eyes, both wanting and not wanting to see what Lucius was going to do to me next. "Harry?"

"Draco, you were having a nightmare."

"You're alive?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Lucius killed you! I killed you!"

"What do you mean?"

"I-I thought- It was a dream?"

"Yes. I am here. No one is going to hurt either of us."

"Harry!" I clung onto him and cried.

"Shhh. It's alright. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Lucius is in prison. He won't hurt either of us. I promise you. I won't let him hurt you."

Harry continued to whisper nonsense into my hair as I clung to him.

Finally, I calmed myself down. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"I don't care. I am here for you. You can wake me up whenever, and I'll be here for you."

"Thank you, Harry."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Not right now."

"Alright." Harry kissed my forehead. I pulled him back against the bed, and he wrapped his hands around me and pulled me against his chest.

"Let's go back to sleep."

He nodded and whispered, "Things never seem as bad in the morning light."

I smiled at his support and burrowed closer into his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too."

And in his embrace, the ice melted from my heart, and the lumps in my throat and stomach disappeared.

I woke up the next morning with Harry's arms still wrapped around me, and I remembered the nightmare and shivered. Harry pulled me closer in his sleep. I rolled over and kissed him. His eyes slowly opened and I felt him smile against my lips. "Good morning."

"Morning. Come on, let's go get breakfast." I let Harry pull me up and downstairs. He started cooking.

"I've never seen you cook before."

Harry looked up and smiled. "Usually, the house elves do it, but I want to know if there's a difference in cooking for people you hate, and people you love."

I was silent for a while. "Your relatives?"

"Yes."

I killed my rage just before I exploded anger on Harry. "Is it any different?"

Harry hummed. "Very. It is very different."

I stood and walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind. I laid my head on his shoulder. "Good, because if it's not any different, I would make you stop."

"No, I actually enjoy cooking. It's just knowing that I wouldn't get any of the food after not eating for practically the whole summer kind of kills the joy."

"I bet. So what are you making?"

"Pancakes and ham."

"Smells good."

Harry laughed. "Thank you." He spun around and kissed me. "Now go sit down, unless you want burnt food.

I smiled and pretended to pout. "But Harry,"

Harry smiled back. "Draco, go."

I laughed at his commanding tone. "Fine." I sat down and watched Harry cook. He seemed more peaceful when he was cooking, like how he was in his sleep. I felt lucky that I was the one he'd chosen to witness his tranquillity.

After we'd eaten one of the best meals of my life, Harry and I were sitting on his couch together.

"Hey Draco, we have to watch those memories sometime today."

I groaned. "Do we have to go into a Pensieve? I don't want to move."

Harry smiled and shook his head. "We can watch them right here."

"How?"

"Auror's trick. If you don't have time to get back to a Pensieve to watch memories, you can force the memory to play out before you, but the people take on a more ghost-like form, and normally you can't see the surrounding areas."

"Interesting."

Harry smiled again. "Indeed, it is." He summoned the vials and opened one of them. The regular silvery mist came out as expected, until Harry waved his hand above the mist. Suddenly, the silvery mist started to change colours and take form.

I heard Harry mumble, "Here we go," and I tightened my grip around him. Harry lifted his head and kissed me. "Thanks." I kissed him once more before two voices interrupted us.

A bell chimed somewhere in the distance and two redheaded figures stepped out from behind something, presumably the back room.

"_Hello there, and welcome to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, best shop for pranks in all of England!"_

"_Thank you. I'm looking for two volunteers."_

Fred and George stepped out from behind something, and walked around the man. Deciding he wasn't that much of a threat, the redheaded twins nodded._ "What do you need us to do?"_

"_Stand as close to each other as possible. I need to take your measurements."_

"_Alright." The twins lined up next to each other and waited. _

Soon, something was brought across the back of their heads, and the memories went blank. A few seconds later, the twins reappeared_. "Fred, where are we?"_

"_I don't know. What happened?"_

"_We were sabotaged by someone."_

"_That's right." _A third voice joined the conversation. I gasped. "Lucius."

Harry nodded. _"What are we doing here?"_

"_You want to know?" _

"_Of course we do, idiot! Why would we have asked if we didn't?"_

There was a loud crack as Lucius brought his hand across the face of the twin that had spoken. _"I will tell you then. I have taken one of each of your hairs, and they are currently in a polyjuice potion that will allow me and one of my friends to take your forms. From there, we will give some," _There was a pause, "_questionable cursed items to dear little Potter's relatives. And the best part, he will blame you two."_

"_Leave Harry alone!"_

"_No, I don't think I will."_

"_Monster!" _There was another crack.

"_Some more of my friends will be here soon to see to your treatment."_

"_You're going to torture us, aren't you?"_

"_Me? No, never. I would never allow my hands to get dirty like that." _Lucius laughed and left.

The mist started to turn back to silver, but before it was completely gone, there was one last statement. _"Forgive us, Harry."_

The once again silver mist travelled back to the vial. Harry silently closed it and opened the other. It was the exact same memory.

After we watched both memories, there was silence. I let Harry think, no matter how much I wanted to console him.

"Now we know the truth." Harry turned to me and cried into my chest. "All of these years, I've been blaming them, and they were innocent. I've hated them for three years for something they didn't do."

I rubbed circles in Harry's back to calm him down. "I know Harry. Shhhhh. I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"Would you mind if we went back to the Ministry? I want to free them."

"Of course. Let's go."

Harry nodded and we stood together. He latched onto my hand, and we apparated to the Ministry.

"Mr. Potter! Are you here to have the Malfoy filth locked up?"

The animal in Harry was back, and the woman soon found herself at a very dangerous wand point. Harry hissed to the woman, "Don't you even _dare _to call him filth. I promised I would hex the next person that called him that, and I will," the woman whimpered.

I walked up to Harry and put my hand on his shoulder. "Leave it, Harry. I don't want you fired because of me."

Harry relaxed and nodded. The woman walked back behind her desk and sat down. "Mr. Potter, why do you care so much about Mr. Malfoy?"

Harry spun around, and I thought he was going to ignore her, until he looked me in the eyes and whispered, "Time to come out," and kissed me very passionately.

The woman fainted in her chair. I had to pull away from Harry to laugh.

Harry smiled as well. "That went over well. She's been flirting with me for months. Maybe now she'll stop."

I felt something rise in me. "She'd better," I growled.

Harry looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "Is Draco Malfoy jealous?"

I was floored. I was jealous. "Only you, Harry Potter, could make me feel jealous. Only you."

Harry smiled again. I was confused; usually he would have laughed if I had admitted that he could make me feel something I hadn't before. I shook it off and followed him down towards the dungeons again. I unwillingly shivered, and Harry pulled me close to him. "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

"I know."

Once we reached the Prison Warden, Harry let go of my hand. I almost whined, but I realized he had to prove who he was through a blood test, and he needed both hands to do so, so I let it go. The Warden nodded when Harry was proven. "What can I do for you, Mr. Potter?"

"I want to release two prisoners you have in your custody."

"Name them."

"Fred and George Weasley. I want all charges on them removed, and I want their freedom to be immediate."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but this will take some time to process, and to allow all the correct people know that they are free."

"Do you know who all those 'correct people' report to? Me. Also, the law that you are referring to states that the Head Auror must know about all releases, and may allow immediate actions to take place. You are to follow my orders and allow them freedom immediately. Before you bring them to me, I want them to be blindfolded so their eyes are not hurt while adjusting. I will take them to a secure location where they can recover."

The man trembled slightly under the force of Harry's will and voice, and nodded. He scurried back towards the twin's cell.

"Harry, that was amazing."

"Thank you."

He latched onto my hand once more to wait until the Twins were released. I saw tears swell up in the corners of his eyes, and I knew he was brooding. I squeezed his hand and blew in his ear. I knew he was ticklish there, and it worked. Harry smiled and shrugged his left shoulder up to his ear to block the air. He turned to me, and his eyes said all I needed to hear. I nodded and he started to speak, but the door opened once again, this time three people came through them. Harry walked up to them, pulling me behind him. He let go of my hand and put one of his hands on one twin, and one on the other. "Fred, George, you will be coming with me and my fiancé. We will not harm you, unless you struggle."

"We will not struggle Sirs. Just please do not hurt us."

Harry broke down into tears at the Twin's statement. I spoke. "We will grab onto your arms to take you to a safe location. Do not struggle."

They nodded their understanding right away. Harry and I each grabbed onto one Twin and took them to Harry's Manor. We brought them to the rooms we had set up for them and stood behind them. Harry had composed himself by then, and I let him take the lead again. "We will remove your blindfolds in a moment, but we want you to know that you are safe here. No one will ever hurt you again, and you will be compensated for the three years you have been gone."

"We are free?"

"Yes. You are free." Harry took off both of their blindfolds and ran in front of them. He threw himself to his knees, and barred his neck in submission. "I am so sorry that you were captured because of me, and I am so sorry that I blamed you for my pain. I am sorry you had to endure three years of imprisonment because of me. I am sorry I have torn apart your family. I am so, so, so sorry. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but please just tell me that you don't hate me for what I have done to you." I heard the tears running down my Harry's face and felt his guilt. I wanted to comfort the broken man before me, but I knew this would cause more problems than solve them.

"Harry?"

"Yes. I am so sorry for your treatment as of the last three years, and I am sorry that I didn't believe you."

"Harry, you saved us! It is the Malfoys fault that we were imprisoned, but it was never your fault. It is we who should be apologizing to you! Because of our stupidity, we let ourselves be captured, and caused you pain. The Malfoys should burn in the deepest pit in hell."

I stepped next to Harry and pulled him up. "You are right. The Malfoys deserve to be punished to the highest extent."

"Draco Malfoy! Let go of Harry! We won't let you take him to your scumbag father!"

"Fred, George, wait! Draco is the reason I am alive right now, in more ways than one, and the reason you two were found! He is no threat to anyone here."

"Why do you-"

"Wait!"

"Harry you said you and your-"

"Fiancé, so that means-"

"Wow, Harry, we didn't know-"

"You swung that way!"

Harry blushed through his pain and guilt. "I don't swing that way, or any way, other than Draco's." Harry could not be called confident in his speech. I knew he was still feeling guilty, and apparently the twins did too.

"Harry, we forgive you. In fact, we never blamed you in the first place. While we were imprisoned, we talked about various ways to get your forgiveness if we ever got out of there. Please, forgive us for allowing ourselves to be imprisoned and allowing the Polyjuice potion to be made."

"If you can even think about forgiving me, I have already forgiven you."

"We forgive you."

"Thank you so much."

"No, thank you for our freedom back." The twin paused for a second. "Um, where are we?"

"The newest Potter Manor."

"This is your house, Harry?"

"Yes, and it will be yours too, until you can restart your business. This will be one of your rooms, and the connecting one will be the others." He grabbed onto my hand again. "And ours is two flights of stairs up and the first door on the right. Please come to us anytime for anything. This is the second floor, and this whole floor is yours for as long as you need it."

"Thank you so much, Harry."

"You're welcome. The House Elves for this floor are Winky and Dory. Call them, and they will assist you with anything you need. They are available anytime, day or night. Also, the kitchens are open all day, and if you request food from the House Elves, all night as well. Please enjoy your stay here, but please no pranks."

The Twins frowned slightly, but nodded soon after. "Thank you for allowing us to stay here."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else?"

"I have something." I spoke up.

"Go ahead."

"There are two people here who would like to see the both of you, as well as Harry. They are downstairs waiting for us right now. They said they would understand if you two were too tired to see them, but they are desperate."

"Who are they?"

"No one hostile. They asked me not to tell their names. Are you ready to see them?"

"Can we get rid of the handcuffs? They are starting to chafe."

"Oh! I am so sorry!" Harry waved his hand, and the cuffs fell to the ground. The Twins sighed in relief then turned to me. Harry nodded and we began to walk. "Follow me, please."

We processed to the entryway where two people were standing. "Mum! Dad!"

"My boys!" Mrs. Weasley opened her arms and, even though they were twenty, they ran into them. The family was reunited while Harry and I stood off to the side and watched. Harry had a sad smile on his face. I took his hand and laced my fingers through his. "You have found someone to fill the empty spaces in your hands."

Harry turned to me and kissed me slowly. He seemed to be extra careful about something. Then I realized his face wasn't touching mine. I moved closer to him and when our faces touched, I realized why. He was crying. I pulled away. "Harry, never be ashamed to let me know when you are crying. I want to help you, and I can't if you won't let me know when you need me."

"I'm sorry. I-I don't know. I was thinking of how I want a family, and how I tore one apart for three years. Then you said that, and I realized I have all I ever wanted. A family would be an added bonus, but as long as I have you, I am happy."

I let Harry's words sink in for a moment. I kissed him on the corner of his mouth. "If you want a family, then you'll have one."

He turned to me. "What? How will we do that?"

"In the Wizarding World, males can have children."

Harry's eyes lit up, but he tried to hide his glee. "Really?"

"Yes. There's a story behind why, but I can't remember what it is now. I'll look it up for you."

Harry pulled me into his arms and lifted me off the ground. "Draco, I love you so much!"

I smiled. That still left me feeling extraordinary. "I love you too." I knew what I was doing today. "Harry, the Weasley's want to talk to you. Go on." I smiled encouragingly and he nodded nervously.

"Where are you going to go?"

"I am not part of this. I feel like I'm intruding."

"I understand. You will never intrude, but I understand the feeling."

I was grateful for his easy understanding. "Am I allowed to leave?"

I saw a flicker of something akin to sadness appear in Harry's eyes. "Draco, you are allowed to travel the world if you want to. I have no control over where you go. That changed the day you told me you loved me."

"I disagree, Harry." I pulled him to me and kissed him. "You have all the control over me in the world, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled. "Thank you."

I kissed him. "Now go talk to the Weasley's. I'll be back soon."

"Will you tell me where you're going?"

I tapped the side of my nose and winked at him.

Harry rolled his eyes and turned to face the Weasley's. He was immediately engulfed by Mrs. Weasley.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N **I AM SO SORRY TO SILVERSTARGIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I USED SOME OF HER WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER, AND FORGOT TO CREDIT HER!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO, WHERE YOU SEE THE (1) THAT SENTENCE IS HER'S! PLEASE GIVE HER THE CREDIT SHE DESERVES!!!!!!!**

Ok, you can all thank PottersLittleSister for the last update as well as this one. Her reviews are fantastic and make me laugh, and they make me want to update. So y'all be nice and give her a big thank you and a cookie!

This chapter isn't as long as the last one, but it's getting late here, and I don't have a 2hr late start tomorrow, so I can't stay up as late as I did the past two nights. I'm going to bed early, although most of the world wouldn't consider 11:00 (or later) early, I do.

Enough rambling from me. Enjoy! It's on me.

***

I smiled and walked out to the end of the wards surrounding Harry's house. I apparated to St. Mungo's.

"How can I help you?"

"I would like to get the MPP."

The receptionist squirmed in her seat. I rolled my eyes. Closed minded people always bothered me. "One moment, please." The woman called someone, and I listened in closely. I wasn't about to be arrested again. She was only told the person on the other side that I had requested the potion. I sighed quietly in satisfaction that I wasn't going to be persecuted for my parents' mistakes anymore. I felt a huge burden come off my shoulders. Five minutes later, I walked out of St. Mungo's with a potion in my pocket and instructions on what to do when Harry was ready to become a father. Even though Harry expressed his wish to have a family, I was still nervous. Should I tell him that I had gotten the potion? Should I keep it a surprise? And further out than that, would Harry be happy that he was going to be a father? Would he be angry that I had gotten the potion without telling him?

I was beginning to feel incredibly insecure, so I used one of the useful Malfoy skills. I told myself that I would deal with the consequences and threw the potion back and swallowed. I apparated back to Harry and the Weasleys.

Luckily for me, the Weasley's were gone by the time I got back. I understood that they were Harry's family, and I respected them greatly for that, but I really did not feel like being social with anyone right now. I just wanted to be alone with Harry.

It seemed he felt the same way. As soon as I walked in the front door, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a kiss.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. When did the Weasley's leave?"

"Just a couple minutes ago. They wanted to celebrate the return of their sons." I saw Harry's longing to have children of his own, and the hurt that had been there since he turned eleven from not having someone to worry about him like that, from not knowing his parents. I kissed him again.

"Harry, would you like children of your own?"

Harry's eyes lit up. "Do you want them?"

"As long as I'm with you, yes, I would love to have children."

Harry's eyes shone brighter than the sun, and his smile closely followed.

I kissed him. "I took a potion that will allow me to conceive. Unfortunately, we have to wait a couple months until the effects work."

Surprisingly, Harry didn't dim. "That's okay. I think it is better that way. We can still get married before having children this way."

I laughed. "Always a traditionalist, aren't you, Harry?"

He smiled. "Naturally."

I smiled back and took his hand. "Come on then."

His smile disappeared and turned into a look of confusion as he tilted his head to one side. "Where are we going?"

"We have wedding plans to take care of, remember?"

He smiled again. "Of course. What first?"

"A location. Where would you like to be married?"

"Anywhere where you are."

I laughed. "That's the point."

"I know, but it's true."

I huffed. "Fine. I'll take care of the location. Who do we want to invite?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Uh," Harry paused, and I could tell that something was about to happen. In a small voice, Harry squeaked, "I'll be right back." He then started to run away from me.

I couldn't let that happen. I wasn't going to let him run anymore. "Harry, wait! What's wrong? Let me help you!"

"I need to think alone right now!"

I ran after him all through the mansion, trying to catch up. Finally, his crying left him short of breath, and I saw him slowing. I put everything I could into running those last few feet, and I grabbed him by the arm. He tried to pull away, but he didn't have any more energy. I gently turned him around and pulled him into my chest to let him cry and let both of us catch our breath. When I could breathe again, I tilted his head up to make him look at me. "Harry, listen to me. I know that this is hard for you because your friends aren't here. I am beyond sorry that they couldn't be here. And I know that you want- need- to grieve, but please, don't shut me out! I want to help you!"

"You don't understand."

"Then let me! When will you stop pushing me away? Harry, I'm sorry that your friends are gone, but you need to see that sometimes burdens aren't meant to be carried alone! (1)Why won't you let me help you?"

"I tried that once. I trusted someone to help me carry my burdens, and all that resulted was a cheater and a broken heart."

"Harry, I'm different than Ginny. I won't cheat, and I won't run. I promise."

"It wasn't Ginny."

"What?"

"Ginny wasn't the first cheater. It happened before the Triwizard tournament. I was so scared, and I tried to tell her, but she was too distracted looking at Krum! When I asked her about it, she said she was just sizing up my competition! I found her with him two days later! I told her I saw them, and she lied to my face to try to cover it up!" I opened my mouth to ask, but he seemed to know what I was going to say. "No, it wasn't Hermione! Do you feel better now that you know every failed relationship I've had? Does it make you feel better to know that I'm still hurting? You know what, never mind. I don't want to talk about this anymore." Harry pulled his arm free, and this time I let him. I was shocked. I knew Harry was hurting, but I never knew how much. To have been cheated on twice and to have to courage to try again was amazing. I touched the ring on my hand. I was shocked at the amount of trust Harry was putting on me. I couldn't have done the same in his position. I would have become bitter and angry. While I thought, I realized that it was amazing that Harry wasn't bitter because of all he had gone through. He is an amazing person. I shook myself out of my shock, and went to find Harry.

After a time, I got so lost in the mansion that I gave up and took out my wand. I laid it flat on my hand. "_Point me to Harry_." My wand swivelled for a while, and then pointed straight ahead of me. I followed the directions my wand was giving me down a flight of stairs and to a bathroom. I could hear Harry crying on the other side, and I saw two angry red heads outside of the door.

One of them turned to me with his wand pointed at my head. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? OUR SISTER HURT HIM ENOUGH! YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD TO HIS PAIN!"

"I didn't do anything! I swear! We were making wedding plans and he got upset that Ron and Hermione couldn't be there! I tried to get him to calm down and to tell me some of what he goes through, and he suddenly exploded and told me about another girl who cheated on Harry with Krum our fourth year. He ran off, and I came after him."

The man still looked angry, but he nodded and lowered his wand.

The other twin took his brother's shoulder and said, "We should leave them alone."

I nodded my thanks to his silent understanding.

The first twin looked at me. "Fine, but if you did hurt Harry, we will make sure that you never breathe the same air as Harry."

I nodded. "If I hurt Harry, I don't deserve to breathe, let alone the same air as Harry."

The Twins seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded before they walked away. I sat down by the door.

"Harry, it's just me now. I understand that you are hurting, and no, it does not make me feel better that you were hurt. I hate it."

Silence.

"I know that you are angry. I'll be here as long as you are, and I mean more than just as long as you are looked in that bathroom. I love you Harry, and I'll never let anyone else have that love. No one else deserves it. No one else can make me feel like I do when you're around. Even being in your presence makes my world seem so much brighter. I love the way you smile, the way that your eyes light up when you have an idea, the way you let your bangs fall over your eyes when you read, the way you just know everything about me without me telling you, but most of all, I love that I love you. I won't leave you Harry."

There was still silence. I admit that I was disappointed, but I understood. I sat down next to the door and waited. I would stay up for as long as Harry was in the bathroom. I wouldn't sleep until I knew he was okay. I wouldn't let him come out without me knowing.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N Another chapter! Enjoy!

I heard every word Draco said from the other side of the door, but they only made my fire burn brighter. How dare he talk to me so lovingly while I'm still mourning! How dare he try to make me feel better after I let so many people die for me! How dare he?! How dare he?! I let that become my mantra, repeating in my head until I almost fell asleep. As I was fading into sleep, my mantra broke, and Draco's words came through. _"I know that you are angry. I'll be here as long as you are, and I mean more than just as long as you are looked in that bathroom..._ _I love the way you smile, the way that your eyes light up when you have an idea, the way you let your bangs fall over your eyes when you read, the way you just know everything about me without me telling you, but most of all, I love that I love you. I won't leave you Harry." _

Usually I would melt at his words, but I was too angry, and too tired. I closed my eyes for just a second.

I opened my eyes to see two people I never thought I would see again. I saw Ron and Hermione. I ran over to them and threw my arms around them. They were holding hands and Hermione's stomach was significantly too large to be normal. I brushed the thought aside, knowing that they would tell me eventually. "I missed you guys so much!" I noticed then that we weren't in my bathroom. "Where are we?"

"Harry, we are in your head. This is almost a dream, but not really. We needed to see you. We've been watching over you, and we know what's going on between you and Draco."

"So you came here to tell me to get away from him, right Ron?"

"No." My head snapped up to meet their eyes.

"What?"

"Harry, like I said, we've been watching you, and we know how unhappy you were until Draco came to you. We've known you long enough to see when you are hurting, even if no one else can. You looked terrible, but you hid it well with your glamours. What I'm trying to say is that Draco makes you happy. This misery that you are in right now is because of us, and now we know how you feel. But, Harry, we will be at your wedding. We'll leave as big a reminder as we are able to. We're proud that you finally found someone that makes you happy. Draco loves you so much. Right now, he's sitting outside that door, and even though it's about four in the morning, he's still awake, waiting for you to come out. Harry, please stop pushing him away! It hurts him when you are hurting. Don't hurt him anymore. All he wants is to help. Trust him." I saw my friends start to fade.

"No! Stay!"

"We can't Harry. We've used up our time, but we promise that we'll see you again."

"Thank you."

My friends nodded, and the last thing I saw was them kissing, and I knew they were happy, and I knew that it was time for me to let them go and surrender to the happiness that was waiting for me just outside the door.

I opened my eyes again, this time back in my bathroom. I threw open the door and threw myself into Draco's arms. Somehow, they were already open and waiting for me. I put my head in his neck and cried. "I'm so sorry, Draco. I was wrong to shut you out."

"Shh. It'll be okay." Draco played with my hair, and I started to calm down. I remembered the promise I had made when I was halfway in between the realms of dreams and reality.

I looked into Draco's watery eyes, and felt a burden lift from my shoulders. "I know." For the first time since I could remember, I truly felt that I was going to be alright. I truly felt that I could live my life, and that I didn't have to keep blaming myself for everything that had gone wrong. I knew, in time, everything would be okay. I knew that I could move on and, even though it is going to be a long road to feel completely okay, I knew I could do it now. I was going to explain my revelation to Draco, but he smiled.

"You don't have to explain it to me. I can see it in your eyes, and your shoulders aren't sagging anymore."

I smiled slightly. "No one else can make me feel like I do when you're around. Even being in your presence makes my world seem so much brighter. I love the way you smile, the way that your eyes light up when you have an idea, the way you just know everything about me without me telling you, but most of all, I love that I love you. I won't leave you Draco."

Draco smiled. "You heard!"

"Of course. Thank you."

He didn't respond with words, instead choosing to kiss me. Our tears mixed as we showed each other how much we loved each other.

I pulled away and then grabbed his hand. "Let's plan that wedding now."

His eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

He squeezed my hand. "I'm sure."

"Alright. Do you know who you want to be your best man?"

"Yes, I do. He was a Gryffindor."

Draco threw his hand across his forehead in a dramatic way. "Oh the horror! However will I put up with a _Gryffindor?_" I giggled. "Harry, I'm about to be married to the most Gryffindor-ish Gryffindor there is. I think I can put up with your best man being a Gryffindor. So, who is he?"

"Neville Longbottom."

"Longbottom? Seriously, Harry?"

"Neville is my friend, and a great wizard!"

"I thought you said all of your friends were gone?"

"I forgot about Neville. I feel horrible for forgetting him, just like I did in school. Neville was always there for me, even when everyone else turned their backs, and this is my way of telling him that I haven't forgotten him."

Draco smiled wickedly. "But you did forget him."

"I know! That's what I feel horrible about!"

I was starting to get worked up again. "Harry, calm down. I was just playing with you. I have no problems with Long-Neville. Do you want to go ask him now?"

"Will you be okay here for a little while?"

"I wasn't planning on staying here, actually. I was going to ask my best man."

"Well, that works out then, doesn't it?" I smiled.

"Indeed."

"Who is it?"

"Now, Harry that would be telling!"

"Draco! That's not fair!"

He just laughed and ran to the edge of the wards. I shook my head and apparated down to him. His expression went from amused to shocked. "How did you do that?"

"Now, Draco that would be telling!"

"Harry!"

"Turn about is fair play!"

"Tell me!"

"No!" I laughed and apparated to the last place I knew that Neville lived.

I got lucky. He was still living there. I saw him working in his garden and walked up to him. He must have had wards surrounding his house, because as soon as I stepped near the entrance to his yard, he whipped his wand out and shouted a stunning spell. I barely managed to throw up a shield spell wandlessly before the spell hit me. I stumbled back a bit from the impact of spell.

"Harry?"

"Hey Neville."

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay! You're reaction time is still good I see!"

"Yeah, old habits die hard, I guess. If I keep this up, I'll be as paranoid as Moody!"

I laughed and noticed the mention of him didn't hurt as much anymore. "I don't think that's possible."

"Okay, maybe not, but I still feel paranoid."

"It's only natural from what you went through."

"Thanks. So what brings you here? Come inside."

I followed Neville inside and watched as he washed and dried his hands. We sat down in his kitchen.

"So what's going on?"

"Well, I'm getting married."

"Really? Give my congratulations to Ginny!"

I didn't mean to, but I growled.

"Harry, what did I say?"

"I wouldn't even consider marrying that _thing_."

"What happened? You two were so in love!"

"I thought so too, until I caught her cheating."

"That's the second time!"

"I know."

"Mate, you have bad luck with women."

"I know."

"Wait, but you said you're getting married?"

"Yes, I did."

"So you found a woman who you think will be faithful, I take it?"

"No, I didn't."

"Explain what you mean."

I took a deep breath. Neville was born and raised in the Wizarding World, where all marriages were accepted, so I hoped he wouldn't take this too hard. "I recently discovered why I had such bad luck with women. Neville, I'm gay and marrying Draco Malfoy."

Neville froze. "What?"

I sighed. "I'll go then." As I was passing through Neville's wards, Uncle Vernon's words came back to me. _"I won't have you contaminating us with your filth!" _I walked faster.

"Harry! Wait!"

I spun around. Neville was running towards me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside. "I'm sorry I froze like that. I just wasn't expecting it. Malfoy terrorized us for so long! What changed?"

"I don't know. He's different than how he was in school. It's hard to explain. Anyway, I came to ask if you would be my best man."

Neville's face lit up. "Of course! I would love to!"

I smiled. "I want you to meet Draco."

"I already know him."

"No, you know Malfoy. I want you to meet Draco."

"Alright. I'll be civil if he will be."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. He might not be back yet, so I can show you around the Manor if you want."

"That sounds like fun."

"Alright, come on." Neville latched onto my arm and I apparated us home. "Neville Longbottom, welcome to Potter Manor."

"Wow! This is huge!"

"I know. I was going to sell it and move to a smaller place, but I fell in love with the view, so I couldn't."

"It's amazing!"

"Thank you. Let's see if Draco's back yet."

We walked inside, and I called for Draco. He wasn't there, and neither were the Twins. "Nobody's here I guess. Come on, I'll show you the kitchen, and we'll work our way up from there."

"Okay."

In the kitchen, there was a note, saying that the Twins had gone to try and start up their business again. I banished the note and started to show Neville around. By the time we got to the third floor, Draco came back.

"Harry?"

Neville and I walked down the stairs to meet him. I threw my arms around him. "Hey."

"Hello."

"Oh, Neville agreed. He wanted to meet you: the real you."

Draco grabbed my hand and walked to Neville. He held out his right hand and Neville took it. "Thank you."

Neville was shocked. I could tell that that was the last thing he thought he was going to hear from Draco. "For what?"

"Harry told me that you were loyal to him, even when everyone else turned their back on him, usually because of me. I want to thank you for being there for him when I was too stupid to be."

Neville was stunned. "You're welcome."

Draco smiled. "So you agreed to be Harry's best man?"

"Yes, and I am honoured that he would choose me."

"You deserve it, and from what I can see, I seriously misjudged you in the past. I apologize for that."

"Thank you."

I smiled. "So, Draco, are you going to tell me who you're best man is?"

Draco laughed. "Yes. Actually, I brought him here also. I had a hard time convincing him I wasn't drugged when I told him."

Neville paled. "No way. You couldn't convince him."

I was lost. "You know who he's talking about?"

"I have an idea."

Draco laughed. "You can come out now, Severus."

"Snape!"

"Yes, Potter, it's me." The familiar drawl assured me that, yes, Severus Snape was going to be at my wedding.

"This is a very weird turn of events."

"Indeed."

"Severus, remember what I told you? Harry is not his father."

"I know, but I have enough reason to dislike the brat."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HARRY LIKE THAT!"

I thought that Draco would be the one to defend me, but Neville surprised me by bellowing at the man he once feared the most.

"Harry is a great person, and you don't even know the beginning of what he went through!"

"Prove it to me, Potter. Tell me everything that your pitiful existence consists of."

I snapped out of my shock at the beginning of his challenge. "No. I have a loyal friend, a man I love, more than enough money to support me, a place to live, and a bright future. I've lived this long without your respect, and I've learned I don't need it. I refuse to argue with you like a little child like we did in school. I don't need to strive to try and make everyone like me. I've learned that only the people who don't mind my flaws, or something that I have no control over and that happened before I was born, matter. Everyone else means nothing. I won't take the bait, _sir_." I walked away, trusting Draco to show Neville and, hopefully, Snape out.

A/N There you go, Silverstargirl , I included Snape for you! It actually fit in very well with my story, so now I have another character to develop! But I'm not giving anything away there! Also, I give a big thank you to you, because I kind of was at a stalemate with this story, so thank you for helping me clear my writer's block!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N Enjoy!

Neville turned to the man I thought could be mature enough to handle talking with Harry. "He's right. He's your junior many times over, and he is still more mature than you. From what Harry's told me, you hated his father because he was immature and always picked on you. So, instead of being the better person, you refuse to grow up and decide to pick on James' son. That makes you no better than James. Think about that, _sir_." Then, Neville turned and walked off the property.

Severus froze. "I've just been corrected by two Gryffindors. I thought the day would never come."

"Severus, they have a good point. You need to let go of this grudge you have against Harry and his father. They only cause you pain and hate. Think about it."

"I'm going home."

I shook my head. "Alright. You know where we live now."

Severus just growled and walked off the property before disappearing.

I turned around and went to find Harry. I found him sitting in a window sill. The window was huge, and Harry was curled up with his head on his knees. The sun was setting, and he looked like an angel, but at the same time, he looked like a scared little boy again. I walked up next to him and took his hand again.

"Did I say the right thing, Draco?

"You were brilliant. I thought Neville was going to explode when Severus insulted you."

Harry smiled. "Do you see what I meant? He is undyingly loyal, and I don't know where I'd be without him."

"I'm glad that you found such loyalty. I'm sorry that Snape had to leave so soon. I know he is important to you."

I squeezed his hand. "You are way more important than my godfather will ever be."

"He's your godfather?"

"I didn't mention that to you?"

"No!"

"Oh, well he is."

"I understand that he is important to you. Mine was my only fatherly figure for awhile. I'm sorry that I made him angry and he left."

"It's not your fault. You were right. Severus needs to mature. He needs to let go, and see you for you. He'll come around, I promise."

Harry just nodded and fell silent. I knew he was thinking and that he needed support, so I stood there with him. I couldn't help but thinking about the picture-perfect scene we would make right now. The setting sun would make a perfect background. The red would highlight Harry's black hair just enough to make his hair look like it had too many different colours, and the yellow would shine around us and throw shadows on the wall. From the outside, there would be two figures standing together—them against the world. And in a way, it was us against the world. Our picture together would be beautiful.

I sighed and pulled on Harry's hand. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Harry cocked his head to the side in a distracted way. "What are you going to show me?"

I smiled. "You'll see." I took his hand and apparated to an abandoned forest far away from Harry's, and now my own, troubles. I walked him through the mossy forest, and adored every gasp of amazement coming from Harry.

"Draco! This place is beautiful! Where are we?"

"We are in a forest, Harry."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious! I meant specifically, where?"

I took a deep breath. "This is the place my grandmother would take me. She disagreed with everything my father, and in turn, I had been raised to accept. She would bring me here once in a while, and we would talk. I would learn about the forest, which plants to eat, which to avoid, which animals are our friends, and which just need to be left alone. It was the worst day of my life when I'd heard that Lucius killed her."

"I'm sorry, Draco."

"It's alright. I miss her every now and then, and I was thinking about her a couple days ago. I wanted to show you the beauty of this place."

Harry smiled. "Thank you for showing me your secret."

I nodded and watched as Harry took in the beauty of what I had come to think of as my forest. There was moss growing on almost every tree, making everything everywhere green. It is an unexplainable beauty, and I'm glad I could share it with Harry. I let him look at everything a while longer before I called him back to me. "Hey, Harry, come here."

Harry looked like a little child at an amusement park as he walked to me. "Yeah?"

"I want to show you something else."

He nodded, so I took his hand and led him through the forest. We walked in silence so Harry could continue to stare in awe at the scenery. Eventually, we reached my destination, the lake with perfectly clear water, soft, smooth stones, and it was always the perfect temperature for swimming. "Draco, it's beautiful!"

"We're going to go swimming."

Harry paled. "I-I-I c-c-c-a-a-n't."

I balked. What caused the man who could talk with such authority to be reduced to a stuttering mass? "Harry, what's wrong?"

"I c-can't go s-s-swimming."

"Why not? You'll be fine!"

"No, I really can't!"

"Are you saying you can't swim? The great Harry Potter can't swim?" I teased him.

"No! I can swim perfectly fine!"

"Prove it!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I fear it!"

The teasing mood vanished. "Swimming?"

Tears sprung into Harry's eyes. "Water."

I brought Harry into my arms. "What do you mean?"

"I can't handle being in water."

"Why not?"

Harry searched me again. I felt a flash of irritation that he didn't trust me completely, but I killed it. Harry was always more important. "My relatives would punish me for mistakes I made."

"What did they do?"

"I can't talk about this."

I took Harry's hands and held them to my chest. "Harry, feel that?"

He nodded.

"That's my heart. It is only yours, and it will never judge you. It only wants to help you."

Harry nodded. "I know," He switched our roles so that he was holding my hands. He placed them on my head. "but I worry that this will decide one day that I am too broken for this," our hands were back on my heart, "to help."

I was floored. Harry believed I would leave him? That was so far from the truth that I was amazed that it could even be a thought. Then the rational part of my brain kicked it. He'd been cheated on twice, and it was probably natural that he was hesitant to trust. "Harry, see these?" I held up our left hands together and pointed to the rings. "You are mine. Even though I have been disowned and am no longer part of the family, I was a Malfoy once, and Malfoys are a bit possessive. You are mine, and _no _one is ever going to touch you, feel you, or even really know you. I won't let anyone have you."

Harry thought about it for a while. "My uncle would hold my head under water for long periods of time. As soon as I would start to see black, he would pull me out, let me gasp for about a minute, and then it would start all over again."

I'm sure there was steam coming out of my ears. "How long has this been going on?"

Harry hung his head. "As long as I can remember. I am ashamed that I could be so weak and let that happen to me!"

"Harry James Potter! Never, never, never, ever say that you are weak! You are the farthest thing I've ever seen from weak! You are so strong!"

Harry had silent tears running down his face.

"Harry, I understand that you hate water, but are you willing to try going swimming with me? I want to replace every bad memory that you have with better ones. You don't even have to know that you're in the water. I'll put a water repelling spell on you, and we'll go in the water. You can close your eyes, and you won't even know the difference."

Harry slowly thought it over, took a deep breath, and nodded.

I smiled. "Thank you." I quickly changed my clothes into a swim suit and cast the spell on Harry. "Close your eyes." Harry did, and I took his hands and led him in the water.

Minutes later, "Draco, are we in the water yet?"

"Not yet, Harry. I'm going slow with you." Harry nodded, and I felt a flash of guilt for deceiving him. We were in the water, but I couldn't let Harry have a panic attack yet.

I stopped in the middle of the lake, where the water was up to my waist. "Okay, Harry open your eyes."

He slowly did, and gasped when he saw where he was. "I'm in the water!"

"You are, Harry. You did it."

"No, you did everything."

"You had enough courage to trust me and let me lead you here. It was you."

Harry grabbed my hand and showed me our rings. "See these? They are a sign of my undying trust to you. I will never distrust you ever again."

I kissed Harry as the sun finally fell under the horizon.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N Ok! Extremely short chapter here, but I wanted to put something out there, and plus the last chapter was the last of the part that I already had written, so the updates are going to come later and only when I have time. I apologize, but I wanted to give you something while I write. Here's the mini-chapter.

"Come on. Let's go home. I want to talk to you."

He nodded and I took Harry's hand as we walked out of the water. Hand in hand, we apparated back to his Manor. We walked inside and I took Harry's hand and pulled him down into my lap a on the couch. "Harry, why didn't you tell anyone about your abuse?"

Harry hung his head again. "I tried."

"You did?"

He nodded and took a deep breath. "I went to Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the Minister, both of them, and every time, all I got was that I should stop being an attention seeking brat and stop making up stories. See, the Dursley's never left any marks until they were sure that no one would believe me. Then the real fun started." Harry's voice was so bitter that I almost told him to stop, but he needed to get stop keeping these things to himself.

"Didn't the Minister want you as his poster boy?"

"Yes, both of them did."

"Why didn't he listen to you then?"

"It seems a certain blond haired Death Eater was paying him to not listen to anything I said."

I was shocked. I had been the one to deliver those payments. My father told me it was to keep him out of prison! He never said anything about hurting Harry! Although, at the time, I probably would have jumped on the chance to hurt Harry. But still! I helped prolong Harry's suffering!

I slowly came to my senses and lifted Harry up and set him on the couch next to me. "Draco?" I ran. I ran out of the Manor, past the wards, and just kept running. I passed forest after forest, knowing only my pain and need to get away was keeping me going.

Finally, I collapsed. I looked up and noticed where I was. I was in a graveyard, lying in between two graves. I hoped I would be safe, closed my eyes, and passed out.

I came to with the sun shining down on me. I looked around, very confused. Where was I? Why am I in a graveyard? Did Harry kick me out? Harry. I remembered everything. I had paid the Minister of Magic to ignore Harry, ignore his suffering. I looked up at the tombstones and the names barely registered. Lily Potter and James Potter. I had run all the way to Godric's Hollow, the place Harry told me his parents were buried. Godric's Hollow was over seven miles away! I had run this whole way? It didn't matter. I had caused Harry pain. And for the first time in a long time, I broke down completely. I sobbed. I knew Harry was better off without me, but I never guessed the effect running away would have on my Harry.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N **PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR! LOOK BACK AT CHAPTER 16 AND READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT IS IN BOLD! IT'LL ONLY TAKE A SECOND! IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

Another fairly short chapter, but it's over 1000 words this time! Also, I thought this would be the best time to stop, since it's almost 1 o'clock and my computer is about to die! So, I'll work on updates as fast as possible, but life is picking up, so I apologize for the shortness of the chapters/the lack of updates. Anyway, enjoy!

I looked after Draco in shock. What realization did he have? It was his father that hurt me, not him!

Then the shock wore off. Draco had left me. Even after he swore up and down, multiple times, that he was different, that he wasn't going to leave me, that he loved me, he still left. I shouldn't have trusted him! I should have known! I should have been smarter than that! Damn it!

Maybe I wasn't supposed to love. Maybe the great Harry Potter was supposed to die in the Final Battle with Voldemort. Maybe I wasn't supposed to have a life together with someone. Maybe I was destined to be alone for the rest of my life. I was alone then, so why shouldn't I be alone now? I laughed brokenly at the irony, and at my idiocy, believing that I could be loved. I was right. I had told Draco too much, and his head overcame his supposed love for me, and he left. I knew he would, so why did it hurt so much? I had even proposed to him! Why? I should have known it was pointless. I shook my head and the tears falling down it. I sighed and walked to my constant friend, my Firewhiskey. He and I were about to become very well acquainted once again. For the next five days, all I did was sit and drink, having cast a spell to make the whiskey fill up every time I emptied it. I refused to cry again. I would never again cry over love. I guess there is a point where you can't cry anymore. I must have reached that point. I felt pathetic. I couldn't even get myself to be angry at Draco. I was only annoyed that I didn't know better than to fall so deep in love that I doubted I could ever get out of the hole I'd dug myself into. I knew only death could get me out of my hole.

I sat there dumbfounded. Death. There was my answer. It would be easy enough. I'd just have to sit here long enough, doing exactly what I am doing. Eventually, the lack of movement and nourishment and the excessive amounts of alcohol would make my body shut down. I could do it. I nodded to myself to cement my plan into action, and began to do just that. I knew it wouldn't take long.

***

I couldn't believe the pain I was in. I had actually paid someone to look the other way over Harry's abuse!

I once again looked at the engagement ring in my hand. I had taken it off my hand the night I ran away. I didn't deserve Harry, or his marriage. I sighed loudly and knew I had to take the ring back to Harry. He would want it for someone more deserving than I am. I stood from my resting place and began the long walk back to Harry's Manor.

I managed to get back to Harry's Manor in four days, and I was exhausted. I walked almost nonstop to get to him. I knew I had to see him just one more time before I set him free. As I got closer and closer to the magnificent door, I knew something was wrong. I didn't feel the wards as I walked through where they were supposed to be, and I was worried. The wards were attached to Harry, and if he fell, so would the wards.

The wards were no longer there. I panicked. That meant Harry was dead! No! That couldn't happen! He deserved to live! Had my father gotten to him? Was my dream actually a premonition? My exhaustion was forgotten as I ran to find Harry. He had to be alive! He couldn't die on me! No! I ran around the Manor and eventually found him in the library. I ran to him and checked for a pulse. There was a pulse! He was still alive! My elation died very quickly when I realized it was my blood pumping from running all the way here. I took a couple deep breaths and tried again. There was a very, very faint pulse. To make sure it wasn't me again, I held my hand above his open mouth. There was breath! It was barely enough to keep anything alive, but he was still breathing! I looked around and noticed the Firewhiskey bottle next to him. I checked it for poison and got nothing back. I checked everything else and saw that there was a charm on it. It was charmed to refill every time it was empty. Harry must have done that.

Did I cause all of this to happen? It must have been me. I had to get him to a hospital. I carefully gathered him in my arms and took him to St. Mungo's.

The same receptionist that Harry and I had first come out to was sitting there. "What happened?"

"He's overloaded himself with Firewhiskey, and I don't think he's had anything to eat for almost ten days."

"Why did you let this happen? Weren't you there to stop him?"

I hung my head and let two tears escape my eyes. "No. I ran."

"You are a coward if you ran away from Harry Potter. He is a great man, and I don't even want to know what you did to him to make him want to kill himself."

If the receptionist hadn't taken Harry from me during her speech, I would have dropped him. I made Harry want to kill himself. I had driven him so far off the edge that he wanted to end his life because of me. I fell to the ground in the middle of a hospital and cried. I had hurt Harry in so many ways. I realized just what I had done. How many times had Harry told me that he was afraid that he would tell me too much and would leave him? How many times had I sworn I wouldn't? How many times had I seen the effect the past betrayals hurt him? How could I have let him down so easily? I was more than a coward. I was betrayal and I hurt Harry. I won't be able to forgive myself after this. How could I have been so selfish? I had forgotten everything because I was ashamed. I couldn't believe it!

"Ma'am?"

"Yes, sir? How can I help you?"

"Is Harry Potter settled enough that he can have visitors?"

"He is unconscious and most likely will be for many more days."

The knife in my heart twisted painfully, but I'm sure the knife sticking out of Harry's back was more painful. The knife I put there. "I know. I just need to leave something there for him."

The nurse looked over me thoughtfully. "Alright. Just be quiet and let him rest, although he won't wake up for the end of the world right now."

I nodded and followed her to Harry's room. When she walked away, I conjured a piece of paper and a quill and scribbled a note on it. I left it on the bedside table along with my ring. I didn't deserve to own it anymore. I looked at the pale Harry sleeping on the hospital bed, and felt my conscious twang at the fact I had put him there. Though I was crying, I knew I had to do one more thing before I left. I knew it was selfish, but I had to kiss him one more time. I didn't deserve to feel his lips against mine, but I was too greedy to walk away without having one more kiss.

I leaned over the guard rails and kissed his pale and lifeless lips. Although he was on the brink of death, his lips were still soft, and I could taste the Firewhiskey still on them. I hoped that meant that he hadn't passed out long ago, and that there was still some chance that he would recover.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N Okay, it's the last day of the weekend, so I highly doubt that I will be able to update much in the next week. So, please enjoy this chapter. I'll update as much as possible, but I still have to write the chapters. Anyway, here's Chapter 21.

Also, I am changing the name of this story from Somewhere Between Life and Love to Somewhere Between Living and Loving. Not a huge difference, but I didn't want any confusion about that. Thanks, and enjoy the chapter.

I stood up and left Harry in St. Mungo's care, knowing that I would never see him again. It broke my heart, but I knew I had to do it for Harry.

***

I groggily opened my eyes and groaned. Where am I?

"Mr. Potter?"

I was handed my glasses. I put them on and looked around. I was in a hospital room and I was attached to tons of different tubes. I groaned again, words escaping me.

"Mr. Potter, you're here because you tried to kill yourself. You were found and brought to us, and you are on the road to recovery. You are severely malnourished, which is why you are connected to all of these tubes. You need nourishment. Are you going to continue to starve yourself, or are you going to move on from this and feed yourself?"

I felt ashamed that I had tried to kill myself. How could I have sunk that low? I had tried to kill myself because of Draco Malfoy. I hated myself for that, but I had hated myself for so long, so why should one more thing matter? "I'll eat."

"Good." The Healer waved her wand, and the tubes disappeared.

"Thank you."

"Mr. Potter, I know you must have gone through a tragedy to push you so far over the edge. However, suicide is never the answer."

I nodded.

The Healer sighed at my lack of response. "Mr. Potter, there is someone here to see you."

I sucked in breath. "Draco?"

"No, Mr. Potter, the Malfoy boy isn't here."

I knew he wouldn't come.

"Shall I show him in?"

I nodded. The Healer left. I put my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. How could it be possible to miss someone this much? I held back the tears in my eyes as I felt someone sit down next to me. For a second, I imagined it was Draco sitting there, but the image was too painful, so I banished it from my thoughts.

"Hey Harry."

"Neville." I opened my eyes to see my friend's caring brown eyes staring back at me.

"Harry, don't you ever do that to me again! I don't want to be the last one here."

"I'm sorry."

Neville took a deep breath. "It's alright, Harry. You just scared me."

I nodded and let the tears fall.

"Harry, I know this is probably hard, but I found this the first day I came to visit you."

He handed me a folded piece of paper. I saw Draco's handwriting and decided to ignore it for now.

"How long?"

"You've been unconscious for almost two months now, Harry."

"Oh."

"Read the note, Harry. I'll leave. But there's one more thing. I found this with the note." He put a round piece of metal in my hand, and I didn't have to look at it to know what it was. Draco had returned his wedding ring to me. I brought it to my face and cried, knowing it was the last thing I would have to remind me of Draco. I thought I was out of tears, but I guess I had been wrong.

Neville left the room.

I calmed myself down enough to let other emotions come back. I was exhausted still, angry at myself more than Draco, and morbidly curious about the note that he left me. I knew it would cause me pain, but I opened the note and started to read anyway.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am leaving. I left the ring with you because I know that they must have cost a lot of money, and that you would want them for whoever you find to love._

_Draco._

I crumpled the note in my hand. Stupid man! The ring was made for him, and only him! There was no one else who could even wear the ring! It wasn't right!

I sighed. Now that I was unengaged once again, I knew I couldn't continue to wear the ring. It would bring up too many awkward questions. I shakily conjured a chain to put the rings on. I slipped the ring off of my finger and put both of them on the chain and put the chain around my neck. I rolled over, feeling the both comforting and painful weight of the rings reminding me both that I was alone again, and that at one point in my life, I had been truly loved. I fell back asleep.

I was shaken awake some time later. I groaned again. "Harry, come on. Get up."

"Neville."

"Come on. You're getting out of here. I know you hate hospitals, so I volunteered to watch over you."

"Alright." Neville was right. I hate hospitals. I stood up, glad that I could stand on my own so soon. I guessed that it was my damn ability to heal quickly, but since it hadn't been a flesh wound, it had taken more time. I was grateful that I could walk. I hated relying on anyone else to help me, and that hate was strengthened by my most recent betrayal. I would never allow anyone inside my world ever again. It only led to pain.

"Harry, let me get your things from your house, and we'll go to my house after that."

"Actually, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter would probably be more comfortable in his own house. Isn't that right, Mr. Potter?"

I nodded.

"Okay, well let me grab some stuff from my house, and then we'll go to yours. Okay?"

I grunted. Neville shook his head and was gone. Minutes later, he was back.

"Harry, can you apparate?"

I nodded and disappeared from the hospital. The Healer turned to Neville. "Good luck with him. He hasn't said more than two words at one time since he woke up."

"He's my friend. I owe this to him."

"He's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Thank you."

"Now go on. Watch over him."

"I will." Then Neville was gone too.

***

I pounded on the door. "Severus! Please open the door!"

"What? Draco, it is four in the morning! What do you want?"

"I need a place to stay. None of the Malfoy estates will allow me in, and I have nowhere to go."

"Did Potter finally kick you out? I knew it was only a matter of time before he came to his senses and remembered that he thinks he's better than you."

"NO! I RAN! HARRY WAS TALKING TO ME, AND I RAN LIKE THE DAMN COWARD I AM!"

Severus' face blanked for a second. "Come in." I followed Severus into his sitting room. "Now what happened?"

"Harry was talking to me, and something came up. I discovered that I helped Lucius hurt Harry and I couldn't stay there. I ran away. Days later, I knew I had to return the ring he gave me. So I started back to his Manor. When I got there, I noticed something was off. The wards weren't checking me like they normally do. The wards are connected to Harry, so Harry had to be in some form of harm. I found him, and- and- he- was-was-barely-barely-breathing! He-he wanted to kill himself-because-because I left!"

"Draco, calm down. I can't help you if you can't tell me the story calmly. Here." Severus reached over and grabbed a vial. I recognized it as a Calming Draught. I swallowed it and immediately began to feel calmer. Severus nodded. "So, what happened then?"

"I took him to St. Mungo's. The receptionist there said that I was a coward to run away from Harry. She was right. I didn't realize until then what I had done. I had gone back on every word I said to him. He told me things that he had never told anyone else, and I could only get him to do that by telling him that I was different than everyone else he had loved and been betrayed by. I told him that I would never leave him, and that's just what I did. I left. I knew I didn't deserve Harry's love, so I left the ring and a note by his bedside table. I walked away from him, and have been living off the pocket money I had until now. I have nothing anymore. I don't deserve my vault in Gringott's anymore, plus I couldn't handle going back there."

Severus was quiet for a couple of seconds. "Draco, you know I don't like the whole Potter family, but if what you have told me is true,"

"It is."

"I know. I think you may have made the situation worse by leaving the note and the ring. What did you say in the note?"

"All I said was that I was leaving and that he should have the rings back for the next person he loved."

"Draco, you have royally screwed this one up."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me put things into perspective for you. You told me the day that you asked me to be your best man that Potter had been betrayed twice already, and that was only lovers. The boy is strong, I'll admit, but do you think that he's really going to get over you, the person that he proposed to, after being cheated on twice, and find another lover? Potter isn't that type of person. He would only agree to marry once, and you were it, Draco. You were the only one Potter really loved, and you ran because of a mistake that you didn't know about."

I couldn't say anything for a long time after that. "Severus, do you think I still have any chance at getting him back."

"I don't know, boy. If you can find him again, throw yourself on your knees and beg forgiveness. Even then your chances are slim. Tell him what you went through, and make yourself sound like as much of an idiot as possible. From what I can guess, you'd better be ready to fully commit yourself to making this up to Potter, because it will be a constant job."

"I won't let him fall through my fingers again."

"Right now, you might not even have that chance."

"I know, Sev, I know."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N Okay! I worked every spare moment I had to get this to you guys! I hope you like this chapter! I think everything turned out the way I wanted it to, but I want to know what you guys think. Please read the Author's Note at the end of the story as well. Thanks a bunch!

As soon as I returned to my Manor, I felt the calming presence of being in a familiar place again. Even though Draco had been here, I had been here first, and it was relaxing to know that I could still have a house, even if the home was gone from it.

I showed Neville to an extra room and let him settle in. From there, I went to the window where I had run to after the confrontation with Snape. I remembered the picture perfect scene Draco and I made, and almost cried again. I stopped myself and sat on the window sill again. I knew this was where I would spend most of my time for the rest of my life.

Was it sad that I was barely nineteen and my life had already ended? For that is what happened. My life ended because one man decided that he couldn't stand the baggage in my past.

I felt another person's presence beside me, and my head snapped up in hope that it was Draco. I looked at the person beside me. I should have known Draco wouldn't come back. It was Neville. "Harry, are you hungry?"

I shook my head no.

"Alright. Well, I'll be right back, okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay." Neville left my side, and I sank further and further into depression.

***

Damn him! I had never been so angry at anyone in my life! Draco had ruined Harry's life, and he hardly had a chance to live it yet! When I walked up to him, I saw the longing and hope in his eyes, and I saw it die when he realized it wasn't him standing by him.

I was going to find Draco and show him what he had done to Harry. That 'man' was going to wish he had never been born. I guess that he would be at Snape's house, and though the mere idea of seeing Snape would usually make me cower, I owed this to Harry, and I knew I was no longer afraid of him. I apparated to Hogwarts to find the location of one Severus Snape.

"Mr. Longbottom? What are you doing here?"

"Hello Headmistress. I need to know Professor Snape's home address."

"Why would you need his address?"

"I believe that he has something that belongs to my friend."

"Oh," The woman looked flustered as she handed me the address.

"Thank you very much, Headmistress."

"You're welcome Neville." I once again walked out of the wards and apparated, this time to the address given to me. I saw the house and somehow knew it was Snape's. It seemed like his. I walked up and knocked. Snape opened the door, and I saw Draco behind him.

"Longbottom?"

"Hello professor. I would like to talk to Draco."

"I don't believe you are going to talk."

"You'd be correct. All I want to do right now is show him a couple memories I have."

Snape studied me for a minute, and I felt proud to be able to meet his cruel gaze. "You are only here on the honour of a friend. I know what you are going to show him, and I know you do it for the right reasons. Maybe you can knock some sense into him, literally if you have to." I knew he had read my mind, but I couldn't be angry.

I smiled a bit. "Thank you, sir."

The man nodded and stepped aside. "I'm sure Draco can show you to his room where you can talk."

Draco nodded. "I have a Pensieve."

"Good." I followed Draco and waited for him to take out the stone bowl. Once he set it down, I put my wand to my head and pulled two memories out. I placed them in the bowl and turned to Draco. "Both of these memories are of the past week. Harry is awake," Something like relief flared in Draco's eyes, "and both of these memories have happened in the past week since he's been up and you've been hiding here." I saw my words cut into Draco. "Go on. You know what to do. I'll be right behind you to explain what's going on. Plus, I want to see the great Draco Malfoy understand that actions _do_ have consequences."

"I know they do, Longbottom."

"Not like this. Go." I watched Draco put his head in the bowl, and soon he was gone. I followed, and soon we were surrounded by darkness. Then the memory started.

"_Okay, well let me grab some stuff from my house, and then we'll go to yours. Okay?"_

_Harry grunted. I shook my head and left. Minutes later, I was back. _

"_Harry, can you apparate?" I asked. He nodded and disappeared from the hospital._

_The Healer turned to me. "Good luck with him. He hasn't said more than two words at one time since he woke up."_

I turned to Draco. "It's true. He still hasn't said more than two words since _you _left." I ignored his reaction and turned back to the memory.

"_He's my friend. I owe this to him."_

"_He's lucky to have a friend like you."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Now go on. Watch over him."_

"_I will." Then I was gone too._

I saw Draco crying but decided to ignore him. He deserves this. "The next memory isn't much of a memory, but it's worth showing to you. Harry only truly loves once, and I don't understand how he gave Ginny a chance, let alone you. Brown was heartbreak enough for both Cedric and Harry."

I turned back to the memory.

_I walked up to Harry. I saw his head snap up, and saw the hope in his eyes. I saw that same hope die when he realized it was me. I knew him long enough to know what Harry was doing. He was once again putting all the blame on himself. I knew he was telling himself that Draco would never come back. I both hoped he was right and hoped he was very wrong._

Draco stared at the blank area when the memory finished. I used my control over my memories to rewind the last memory to Harry's fallen face when he realized who was standing by him. "Do you see what you've done to him? You have completely broken him! He doesn't say more than two words at a time, and do you want to know what he's doing right now? He's sitting by a window in his Manor and he refuses to move! And it's all because you were too much of a coward, and you ran!"

"I know what I've done to him. I want to make it, make everything up to him, but I don't know how."

"You'd better get on your knees and beg, first for me to take you to him, and second, you'd better have some really good explanation for what you did."

Draco fell to his knees. I hid my shock. I hadn't expected the proud man to actually do what I said. "Neville Longbottom, I beg of you, please, take me to Harry. I need to fix what I've broken. I cannot allow Harry to suffer because of my stupid mistake. Please, at least allow me to see him one more time. I will never be able to take away the suffering I have caused, but I want a chance to tell Harry that he isn't the one to blame."

I thought about what Draco said and decided to punish him a bit more. "I will be back in four days to collect you, but only if Harry agrees. That should give you time to think about how Harry is feeling because of your actions, and it will give you time to come up with an appropriate apology."

"I agree."

"Good. You have four days." I looked up, and felt myself returning to the real world. Draco did the same, but he fell to the floor again. I thought he was going to say more, but all he did was cry. I walked to the front room, where Snape was still standing.

Snape nodded to me. "Longbottom."

I nodded back. "Snape, I will be back in four days to collect him."

"Where are you going to take him?"

"He wants a chance to apologize."

"I hope Potter gives him a chance, though he does not deserve it."

"I agree he does not deserve it, but I've seen how happy those two make each other. If they can get past this, they'll be the strongest couple in the world."

"Indeed."

"Goodbye, professor."

"I shall see you in four days then."

I nodded and apparated back to Potter Manor. I hoped Harry had at least done something in the time I was gone. He hadn't. He was still sitting in the same spot I had left him. I sighed and walked over to him.

"Harry, Draco wants to talk with you."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Draco?"

"Yes, Harry, Draco. He will be here in four days to talk to you. He wants to apologize and ask for another chance."

"Four days?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

I saw something come back to life in Harry's eyes, but it wasn't the same Harry I knew before.

***

When Neville told me that Draco wanted to apologize and was coming back here, I felt something come back to me: something that I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt unadulterated rage. I knew that I had to keep this rage inside me for four days, but I knew I could do it. All I had to do was sit here and think of every single thing I felt during his absence. I remembered the complete hopelessness I felt while he was gone, and the desperation I felt, being pushed over the edge, wanting death, wanting to no longer to see this life through. I remembered the hate I felt at myself, the wishing that the last days never happened.

But they did, and now Draco would have to deal with the consequences.

***

It had been four days since a very angry Neville showed up on Severus' door. I was grateful to Neville for giving me a chance to see Harry one more time. I hoped that I could win him back, but I knew the chances were slim.

I put my head in my hands as I sat on my bed. I knew I had messed up big time with Harry. I had run after the million times I told him I wouldn't. I hoped Harry would understand, but once again, I knew I had no chance. Harry deserved better than an ex-Death Eater, better than someone who had caused him so much pain.

I heard a knock on the door, and my heart began to race. Neville was here to take me to Harry. I pretended I didn't hear the door and kept my head in my hands. I had to remember what I was going to do as soon as I got to Harry.

The more I thought my plan through, the more and more ridiculous it sounded. I decided to forget the plan and go with my instincts. I would say what I thought was right and what Harry needed to hear.

There was a knock on my door, and I had to remind myself how to breathe. It was time.

I opened the door. Standing there was Neville, motioning for me to follow him. I had expected him to say something to me, to tell me that I was lucky Harry was willing to see me, but he did not. All he did was glare at me until we were out of Severus' home.

"Even if Harry does forgive you for this, I never will. You haven't seen him these past few days, but I have. This is worse than when his godfather died, and you are the cause of it." Neville shook his head. "But you'll see soon enough." Neville grabbed my hand and took me to Potter Manor, somewhere where I had been banned from as soon as I ran. I guessed the only reason that I was being allowed in now was because I was with Neville. Once again, the man was silent. I followed him through the Manor to the window. My heart broke more at the sight there. Harry was sitting there, staring out the window. The once proud cheekbones were now protruding out of his face from lack of nutrition. His eyes were lifeless, and everything he was wearing was the same that I had found him in. I cried. Neville shot me a look that clearly told me to suck it up and stop crying. I wiped my eyes and willed the tears to go away. I noticed then that Harry was clutching something on a chain around his neck. I looked closer and saw that they were our rings! He kept them? What was Harry thinking as he clutched on to those rings so desperately?

"Hey, Harry, Draco is here to see you."

"Four days?"

"Yes, Harry, it's been four days since I told you that he would be coming."

"Oh. Alone?"

"You can talk to him alone if you promise that you won't do anything drastic again."

"I promise."

"Alright." Neville sighed again. "Harry, I just want you to know that I'll always be your friend, no matter what you chose with him. I have always been there for you, and I never plan on stopping."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Harry. Good luck."

Neville didn't wait for a response. He just turned and left. For the first time since I got here, Harry turned away from the window. He watched Neville leave. He flicked his wrist and I knew he was casting a Silencing charm on the door. I felt grateful that he wanted this to be as private as I did.

"Harry,"

"No. I go first."

"What?"

"I want to say what I need to say first, before you try to convince me to take you back."

I hung my head at the implication. He wasn't going to take me back. I wanted to sigh, but I knew this was a bad time. "Go ahead."

"I hate you." I flinched. "I hate you for leaving me after all the times you said you wouldn't, I hate you for making me almost commit suicide, I hate you for making me feel like I had a chance to be loved, I hate you for giving me a glimpse of a happy life and then brutally tearing it away, I hate that I told you too much and you ran, even though you told me you wouldn't, I hate that you ran because I told you that your father caused more of my suffering, I hate that I don't understand why you ran, but most of all, I hate that I still love you." I was crying by the time he finished.

"Harry, I'm beyond sorry that I left. I wasn't thinking clearly, and the shock of what you told me made me run. It wasn't because of you. I ran because I was the one to deliver those payments to the Minister. My father told me they were bribes to keep him out of prison, and I guess in a way they were, but I didn't know they were to keep you suffering. I didn't run because you were too burdened, I ran out of guilt. I hate that I caused you this much pain and I hate that I ruined the perfection we found together. I am so sorry. I wish I could take what I did back, but I understand that I ruined any chance I had. I know that you couldn't love me again, but I want to say that I still love you too, Harry. Merlin, I love you Harry. I just wish I could have been a better person and seen it sooner. Maybe none of this would have happened."

There was a second of silence. "You ran because of guilt?"

I hung my head again. "Yes."

"It wasn't my burdens that made you run?"

"No, Harry, it was my burdens that made me run, not yours, and it was the worst decision in my life. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

Harry was silent.

"I understand. I'll go then. I just wanted to apologize for the pain I caused you, past and present." I turned to walk away once again. I got to the door before I heard his voice again.

"Draco Malfoy, don't you dare walk out of that door again."

I spun around. "What?"

"Maybe it's because love is blind, deaf, and stupid, but I still love you with everything I have. It might be a stupid decision, but I am going to give you one more chance."

I felt a flare of appreciation to love for being 'blind, deaf, and stupid' because it gave me another chance to be with Harry. "You're not kidding?"

"I would never joke around about my love. It is nothing to joke about."

"I agree."

Harry tilted his head to the side, smiled, and looked at me. I knew that was a bad sign. It meant something that could cause me bodily harm. He seemed to shake it off and I barely had time to think about his mood changes before he walked up to me slowly. He brought his hand up and smacked me across the face. "Never, ever, ever leave me again!" He laid the same hand he smacked me with on my red and stinging cheek.

"Never again will I put you through that kind of pain again. I would rather you hurt me than me hurting you again."

"Good." Harry leaned into me and kissed me. I melted. I never thought that I would be able to kiss Harry again. I realized I got my wish. Harry kissed me again. I kissed him back with everything I had.

He pulled away and I resisted the urge to whine at the loss of contact. He smiled knowingly and took my hand. "Come on. We're probably worrying Neville. He probably thinks I'm killing you."

"Actually, I think he'd be cheering you on if you were. He doesn't like me."

"And you blame him?"

"No. He has every reason to hate me for what I did to you."

Harry kissed me again. "That's why I know that giving you one more chance isn't a bad idea. You blame yourself, even after I've clearly forgiven you," He held up our intertwined hands, "and you know what you did." Harry sighed. "Draco, I was so hurt when you ran. I drank over twenty bottles of Firewhiskey in a couple hours and starved myself. Never before had I contemplated suicide, even when I was fighting the seemingly hopeless battle against Voldemort. I couldn't believe that I let one man control my life that way. But you came back, and honestly, you look terrible."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at yourself. Your eyes are bloodshot and red rimmed. Your hair isn't styled like it normally is, and I can tell that you haven't slept much recently."

I went through the last few days in my head. Harry was right. "I guess you're right. I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out. I guess nothing was worth it when I knew I hurt you. When I found you almost dead, everything was sharply put into reality, but I refused to acknowledge it. Then Severus told me what I already knew. I realized what I did and I hated myself more. Everything just fell apart after that."

Harry kissed me again. "You are very good at apologies, which is surprising since you never had to apologize for anything in your life." Harry smiled.

I thought about it. "Sadly, I actually can't argue with that. You're the first person I ever apologized to."

"Well, I am betting there will be more apologizes coming."

"Neville?"

"There are others."

"Others?"

Harry smiled and let go of my hand. He flicked his wrist and the door opened wide. Standing there were two very angry redheads. "Fred, George, I have forgiven him, but he deserves something for leaving me, don't you agree?"

"Definitely."

"Yes he does."

"Go for it." Harry stepped to the side of the room and left me at the mercy of two very angry twins.

"We said once that if you hurt Harry,"

"We would make sure you didn't breathe the same air as Harry."

"You hurt him,"

"And it's only our respect for Harry's stupid decision to take you back that keeps us from shipping you to America right now in very small pieces."

"However, he has allowed us some form of a punishment as long as it doesn't hurt you,"

"Permanently."

"Yes. So, Harry is going to watch us give you back every piece of pain he's felt since you left him."

"Indeed. It's quite a simple little spell we invented,"

"Just for you. Want to help us try it out?"

I nodded. "I deserve so much more than feeling what he did. I deserve as much pain as possible for what I did to him, and I'm sorry."

"Then you'll agree that this isn't torture." The twin mumbled a spell, and I was taken back to the moment I left, but I felt it through Harry. I felt the denial, the anguish, the feelings of betrayal, the loss of hope, the anger, the desperation, and the emptiness. Then there was nothing for a while, and I hoped the spell was over.

Then I felt it. I felt Harry's overwhelming urge to end his life. I felt it as my own, and suddenly, nothing else mattered. I turned to the window Harry had taken as his residence in my absence. It was open. I ran towards the window.

***

I watched Draco go through what I had felt, and I knew what he was going through. I saw each individual expression flit across his face. I saw how it was affecting him, and when he turned towards the window, I realized what he was going to do.

"Stop! Draco Malfoy, stop running towards that window right now!" He kept running. I thanked whoever was listening to me that we were in a very long room. "Draco, if you love me you'll stop!" Draco halted immediately.

"Harry?"

"Don't worry Draco. None of that was real. You don't want to kill yourself."

"But I caused that? I made you that desperate to kill yourself? I did that to you?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. You came back."

"It does matter! I caused you that much pain! YOU WANTED TO KILL YOURSELF HARRY! I CAUSED YOU TO WANT TO KILL YOURSELF!" Draco started to cry.

I turned to Fred and George. "I think we need a moment alone."

The twins nodded and left. I turned back to Draco and circled my arms around him. I kissed the tears falling from his eyes. "You are forgiven." I kissed him again.

He allowed me to kiss him for a while before he pulled away. "Harry, I don't deserve you."

"Don't you dare say that. If you walk out on my again, you won't get any more chances."

"Harry, I just caused you to want to kill yourself. Although I was stupid enough to run the first time, I'm never running again."

I kissed him again. "Good. Come on, let's go talk to Snape. He's probably worried about you."

"How would you know that?"

"He's your godfather. I figured that he had to care about someone out there, and you were the one he seemed closest to."

"You are really observant you know."

"Thanks, I think."

Draco laughed and pulled me close. He wrapped his arms around me, and I inhaled him once again. I couldn't explain the smell to anyone if they asked me to. It was just Draco. There wasn't anything like it in the world. We just stood there for a while, each letting our wounds heal while healing the other's pains. I sighed and smiled. "I missed this."

A/N: Ok I have a question for you. Do you think that Harry accepted Draco back too quickly? I am considering taking this chapter down and rewriting it. I want to know if you guys like it first though. So, should I keep it or leave it? Thanks in advance for you help and support through your reviews! I love them, and I look forward to seeing them when I get home from my practices/games/school.

Anyway, the part you guys probably actually care about, updates! I should have the next chapter ready fairly soon. Thank you for your patience with me. Summer's almost here, though, so I'll have way more time to write and update then! Yay! Anyway, thanks again!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Alright! Here's chapter 23! I can't believe that there are already 23 chapters! I have to end this sometime soon probably... How to end it though? Hmmmmm.... *evil smirk* I have three ideas, and depending on the amount of reviews I get/the length of the reviews I get, I'll choose one of the endings. So, if you want a happy ending (well, the most happy) more reviews make me happy, therefore Harry and Draco are happy too. Get the idea? You all have this chapter and the next two to get those reviews in! Thanks for reading in any case! Enjoy!

"_I missed this."_

"Me too, Harry, me too. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I caused this to ever happen. It never should have."

"Hey, I already told you," Harry paused and grabbed my hand. He held it up in front of us, and somehow, my ring was back on my finger "that you are forgiven. I love you, and honestly, the only reason I wanted to kill myself was because I couldn't live without you. I love you Draco, and I never, ever want this ring to leave your finger ever again. I don't think I could handle it again."

"I couldn't handle it either."

"Good, then we agree."

"I love you, Harry. I love you so much."

"I love you too Draco." He kissed me and clutched my hand. "Come on. We should go see Snape."

I nodded, still dazed by his kisses. I don't know why they suddenly had this effect on me, but they did. Maybe it was because I never thought that I would kiss him again. Whatever it was, it had me dazed, but I liked the feeling. I followed Harry through his house and to the edge of the wards. I sighed in relief when I felt them wash over me in recognition. I smiled. Harry was alive and well, and this wasn't a dream. The sensations were too real to be a dream.

"You'll have to take me to Snape's, uh, residence. I don't know where it is."

"Alright." I felt foolish, but I opened my arms wide. "Come on."

Harry laughed and ran into my arms. He looked up to me. "Now I'm where I belong."

I smiled at the elation I felt at his words. "Come on before I forget what I'm doing and we end up somewhere random."

"Alright. Lead the way, mi amor."

"Mi amor?"

"It's Spanish."

"What does it mean?"

"Do you know how to read a book?"

"Yes of course!"

"Well, then look it up!"

"Harry, please tell me." I pouted.

"You're not any fun, you know that."

I smiled. "So I've been told. Now what does it mean?"

"Mi is Spanish for my and amor means love."

"My love?"

"Yes."

"Come on, mi amor." I know I pronounced it wrong, but Harry still smiled.

"Hey! That's my thing!"

"And now it's both of ours." Draco paused. "Hey! You distracted me! We are leaving now."

"Alright, mi amor."

I shook my head and apparated us to Severus' house. When we landed, once again, I fell to my knees. Harry landed perfectly, of course, and laughed. "You really suck at this. Come on." He held out his hand and pulled me up.

I brushed myself off and took his hand again. "Yes, I do. I want to know how you do that!"

"I told you, you'll have to force it out of me. Or did you forget that too?"

I couldn't believe the malice behind Harry's words. "Harry, I didn't forget, I just thought-"

"Draco, wait. I'm sorry. That was horrible of me to say that. I'm sorry."

"I understand that you are still hurt. I would be too. I just hope that we can get past this someday."

"I hope so too."

"Not to break up the making up, but is there a reason that you two are here?" I turned to see Severus. He smiled. "Of course, you are always welcome here, Draco." He opened his arms and enveloped me in a hug.

He let go and Harry nodded to him in recognition that he was there. Severus did nothing.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Hello Severus."

"I take it you made up with Potter." He still sneered at Harry's name.

"Yes, I did, and you'd better stop sneering at his name. Potter is going to be my last name soon."

Severus curled his lip. "I'll still call you Draco."

"What will you call Harry?"

"Potter." The sneer was there again.

"See, that's what I mean. When you sneer the name, it insults both of us, not just Harry. You need to let go of this childish grudge. I don't know what Harry's father did to you, or why you hate them so much, but you need to let it go!"

"You want to know what he did to me? He humiliated me countless times in front of everyone!"

"So you turn around and do the same thing to the man you swore to protect? Severus, it's not right! If you hated it so much, why is it okay for you to do it to another person? Why is it so horrible that James Potter did it, but when you do it, there's nothing wrong with it? Does it make you feel better to know that you tortured someone who did nothing to you? Does it make you happy, Severus? I know you. You aren't the hateful person I see when you're around Harry. I've seen that you care, and I hate that my fiancé can't see the same of my godfather! For a long time, you were my father! You were the only one who cared about me! But if this is the way you are going to act around my almost husband, then I don't want anything to do with you! I'll find another best man, and you can live your hateful life here alone."

"You and the Potter spawn have one minute to get off my property before I hex him to death."

I stepped in front of Harry. "You'll have to kill me first, Snape, because I will not let Harry die because of me. It almost happened once. I won't let it happen."

"Then I'll kill two Potters with one stone."

"I understand now why you are the most hated professor in Hogwarts. I never did before, but I do now. I hate you."

"Come on, Draco. He's not worth it. Let's go home."

I spun around and kissed Harry. I whispered in his ear, "But you are."

Harry smiled, but I could tell he was scared. "Don't let him hurt you."

"He won't. He is only being hot-headed. He'll cool off in a bit." I turned back around. "Now, Snape, be nice and-"

I was cut off by a sickly yellow coloured beam coming straight towards me. I ducked and saw Harry do the same. It hit a tree behind us, and that part of the tree turned to ash. I turned back to Sev-Snape. "You were serious."

"I don't lie, Draco."

"You just did. How ironic that you lie about not lying. Come on, Harry. Let's go." I took Harry's hand as he nodded. "Severus Snape, from this day forward, you have forfeited your rights as my godfather by breaking the agreement you signed when you agreed to watch over me. Also, as the future spouse of Harry James Potter, I revoke you of your responsibility to watch over Harry. You never did anyway, so you shouldn't miss it. Goodbye Snape." I clasped Harry's hand and took us away from there.

We landed back at Potter Manor, and I turned to Harry. "What have I done?"

"You stood up to your godfather for me. You chose me over him. I understand if you want to go back there and tell him you changed your mind. I shouldn't have gone with you. I know Snape doesn't like me. I'm so sorry that you had to make that decision because of me. I understand if,"

"No, Harry not that. I'd choose you over Snape every day."

"Then what's wrong?

"If I fail in watching over you and you get hurt, because of that responsibility I took, I will die."

"What do you mean?"

"If you fall and get scratched, I will take the fall and die. That is how the Unbreakable Vow works."

"That can't be true. Snape's had it since the day my parents died. I've been hurt numerous times. He's not pushing up daisies. I don't think Snape actually made the Vow. I think it was a last wish that bound him."

"Are you sure?"

"From what Dumbledore told me, yes, I am."

I felt my shoulders sag in relief. "Then I can keep my promise."

"What do you mean?"

"I promised I'd never leave you. I couldn't handle breaking it again."

"Thank you, Draco. I love you."

"I love you too, and I can see why you dislike my ex-godfather so much. He can be mean!"

"Mean kind of covers it, I guess."

I smiled. "Come on. We still have to talk to Neville. I think it will be more pleasant to talk to him."

"I don't know. Neville was pretty mad at you when he showed you in."

"True, but at least he won't hex us, right?"

"No, Neville would never want to hurt me."

"What about me?"

"He knows hurting you would hurt me, so I doubt he would try."

"Alright. Let's go then."

We walked back towards the Manor and up to Neville. "Harry! You're alright!"

"Yes, I am Neville. Thank you so much for watching me. I'm so sorry that I was so rude to you, and I was a horrible friend. You left your house to watch me, and all I did was ignore you. Thank you so much for still being there for me, even when I was being so rude to you. I'm so sorry."

Neville put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, it's alright. I understand that you needed to grieve because he left you," He glared at me for a second before he turned back to Harry. I closed my eyes from the pain of knowing I hurt Harry like that, "and no matter what, I'll still be your friend. I care for you, Harry, and I always will."

"Thank you Neville."

"You're welcome. Now, Draco, I still have yet to forgive you. You put my only living friend through hell. You didn't see him in that hospital bed two weeks into his stay there, but I did. You wouldn't recognize him. He was way too pale, and his body was refusing the nutrients the doctors were trying to put in him. He almost died again, Draco. Twice you almost killed him! I cannot accept any apology yet for that." Neville took a deep breath. "However, since you two are still planning on wedding, if you will still have me, I will be there."

"Of course you are invited! I wouldn't want my best man to miss my wedding!"

"Thank you, Harry."

"Neville, not to be rude or anything, but do you want to go home? You can stay here if you want to, or you can go home if you want to. It's your choice."

Neville smiled. "I don't think you're being rude, Harry. I would like to go home. I miss my house and my plants. Will you be okay?"

I spoke up. "He will never be hurt again."

"Good, because if he is, someone will have to pay."

I nodded at Neville's unspoken challenge. I understood the message. _Hurt him again and I'll kill you. _"I will never hurt him again. It's not worth the pain for both of us. I have found where I belong and I'm never letting him go again."

Neville nodded. "See that you don't." Neville turned back to Harry. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"I will. I'll send you the wedding information as soon as we have it planned out."

"Alright. I'll see you then, Harry. Goodbye, Harry, Draco."

"Bye Neville."

"Goodbye."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N Okay, fairly long chapter here, but nothing enormous happens, unless you are a Severus fan *wink*. Also, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long! Softball ends this week (unless the games keep getting rained out! It's freakin' MAY and our games are getting rained out!) Anyway, my point was that I should be able to update more frequently then. Thank you for your patience!

Neville turned and walked out of the Manor. I turned to Harry. "I wish I had a friend like that."

"Neville's loyalty and dedication can't be bought anywhere."

"I can see that."

"Harry, does Neville live alone?"

"I think so. I don't know if he has a girlfriend or anything. He keeps that to himself, and I don't intrude on what he needs to keep to himself. I respect his privacy."

"You know, I think your loyalty outshines Neville's."

Harry hung his head. "No, it doesn't. Neville is a way better person than I will ever be."

"Don't say that. You are an amazing person."

"No, I'm not."

"What makes you say that? What could you have done that made you less honourable than Neville?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Can we talk about this later? We're supposed to be happy that we're back together. I don't want to be sad right now."

"Harry, I want to know! Please tell me! I want to help!"

"Yes, because that worked so well last time!"

"Harry, I told you that I was sorry! It was a stupid decision! I hate myself for it, and I will never forgive myself, even though you have! But that doesn't mean we can avoid this! I want to help you!"

"You gave up that right when you left!"

"Harry, please!"

"No, Draco!"

Our argument was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. I turned to Harry. "We'll continue this later."

Harry shook his head and stalked to the front door. He opened it and almost hissed. I swear Harry was part animal. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Potter. I came to see my godson."

I recognized the voice. It was Sev-Snape. "I'm not your godson anymore."

"Draco! Hello, son."

"For the last time, _Snape_, I am not you godson, and I am especially not your son."

I saw the hope in his eyes die. "Then I came to apologize. I was stupid when I threw that hex at you, and I shouldn't have let my anger escape me like that. I don't know what I would have done had that hex hit you." His omission of Harry didn't escape me.

"Good thing I have fast reflexes, huh, Snape."

"Draco, please, forgive me. I apologize for what I said to you and that the hex almost hit you."

"Snape, I know you are leaving Harry out on purpose. I cannot forgive you until he does. He is the only thing that matters to me anymore. I don't care about appearances anymore. Harry is the only one that can make me feel anything outside of the hateful person I once was. Harry has turned me from something like you into the happiest man alive, and I know I shouldn't push him like I do, but I get too caught up in wanting to help him that I forget that he needs to keep some things to himself." I looked at Harry for a little while before I turned back to Snape. "I know that you hate James for making your school life hell, and I know you hate Lily for choosing James over you, but you have to see that Harry isn't James or Lily. He is nothing like them. He is loyal to whoever he chooses, and whoever chooses him, even if they are not. He doesn't humiliate anyone just because he can. In fact, the only person he ever humiliated was me, but that was because I brought him to do it. Yet, I don't hold onto a grudge, because I know that he didn't taunt me out of the blue. In fact, he never started any of the many fights we had. I started them all. I wish, Snape, that you could see past your need to cause others pain. It's sad that you are choosing to live and die a hateful bastard."

"So if I don't apologize to Harry, I don't get my godson back?"

"Correct."

Severus glared at me for a while before he sighed. "I hate that you're making me say this, Draco, but it is the truth. I thought a lot about what you said. You're right. I should have seen past James and Lily to see the true Harry Potter." Snape turned to Harry. "I hated you because you had the perfect childhood that I could never have. I hated you because you had friends that would stand by you no matter what. I hated you because your mother was the only one who saw past the darkness I was becoming. I guess I never really hated you. I hated your father because he was the person that pushed me over the edge into the downward spiral that was my life. He led me straight to the Dark."

I knew this was a moment between Harry and Snape, so I didn't respond. I wondered what Harry would say to Snape's apology.

What he did shocked me once again. He walked up to the slightly taller man and put his hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I had extremely loyal friends. They were so loyal that they followed me to their deaths. Not one of the countless who died didn't die because of me. My best friend was murdered because he was in the dorm at the wrong time. Now all of my friends, except one, are dead. My mother would have loved you, but you pushed her away. I have no excuses for my father. He was a prat to you, but I'm not him, no matter how much I look like him. I was almost put into your House, you know. I am not James Potter. As for my home life, no, it was far from perfect."

"I don't believe you. I know that you were worshipped at home, just the same as you were at school."

"I have never been worshipped in my life. Maybe my title as The-Boy-Who-Lived was, but never Harry. I was hated at 'home'."

"Explain Potter."

Harry sighed and I grabbed his hand for support. "My aunt was jealous of my mother because she had the magic in her family, and she got all of the attention from her parents. So, as she grew up, instead of being proud that he sister was special, she became more and more hateful. Eventually, she married my uncle, who also hated anything out of the ordinary. So, when my parents died and I was placed with them, my aunt saw it as a perfect chance to get revenge on her sister, through me. My uncle left me alone for the most part until he saw that I had the 'freakiness' that his wife had warned him about. He thought he could beat the magic out of me. Well, he soon found out that he liked the feeling of dominance over another person. So, it escaladed from me getting smacked around to every form of torture there is. I still have scars." Harry took off his shirt and dropped his glamour. For the first time in my life, I saw shock dominate Snape's face. Then Harry turned around. Snape traced the scars on Harry's back. I knew what he was thinking. He traced the word that was on Harry's back. Freak. I hated that scar with everything I had, but I also accepted it. It was Harry's, and I wasn't about to shun him for his uncle's stupidity.

Snape moved on to the lash marks Harry had on his back. I began to feel jealous that Harry was letting his 'evil Potions professor' touch him like that. I reined my anger in because I knew that this was important in Snape's process of seeing Harry, not James Potter.

"You've lived like this?"

Harry nodded. "All my life."

"I've hated you all this time because you were hailed. I was wrong."

"Yes, you were."

"I was so wrong. Harry Potter, I apologize for everything I've ever done to you. You deserve so much better than this!"

Harry smiled as he put his shirt back on. He grabbed my hand again. "I've found it."

"I'm glad. Mr. Potter, I apologize that I have been such a bastard to you, and I am amazed that you took it so well. If I had been in your situation, I would have yelled at me the first time I made you mad. I would have been so much bitterer if that had happened to me. I cannot believe that I couldn't see that you had been hurt like this. I can usually tell."

"It's true. He saw that I was being neglected at home, and he started caring for me then."

Snape nodded. "So Mr. Potter, will you forgive me?"

"Call me Harry. " For the first time, Harry saw Severus smile. Harry stuck out his hand and Severus shook it.

"Po-Harry, I'm sorry that I treated you so badly before, and Draco, I am so sorry that I wouldn't listen to you and that I attacked you both. I was being an idiot, and I apologize."

"It's alright, Professor."

"Harry, I haven't been your professor for years now. I think its okay that you call me Severus."

"Thank you, Severus." Harry saw my godfather smile again. Harry smirked. "You should smile more. It's nicer than when you sneer or smirk."

"I agree Sev."

Severus shook his head. "To you guys, I'm sure I'll be smiling a lot. To the brats at Hogwarts, well, they're incompetent and deserve for me to sneer at them."

Harry shook his head. "Everyone, Severus has left the building. Professor Snape is back." Harry's tone was serious, but his smile gave everything away.

"Draco, I have no idea how you put up with this one."

"Me neither."

"Hey!"

I smiled. "You know I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

"Okay! Before this gets to mushy, I'm leaving now."

"Bye Severus!" Harry was acting very excited. I shook my head at his energy.

"Goodbye, Godfather."

Something changed in Severus. I saw the all the light come back to his eyes. "You mean it?"

I nodded.

"Thank you."

I nodded again. "You're welcome. We'll send you the wedding details soon, and I hope that you find a good suit to be my best man."

I'm sure Harry had never seen Sev this excited before, seeing as he is a completely different person away from the school. I'm not sure I had ever seen this much light in Severus' eyes.

The man was so weird though. When most people get excited, they scream, jump up and down, squeal, or something like that. Severus did none of this. They only ways you could tell that he was excited were by looking in his eyes, or watching his hands. His hands would clasp together, then apart, then grab onto something, like the material of his robes, and then clasp together again. He never seemed to notice that he was doing this, because he was still the picture of calm and collected, minus his hands.

"I will. Thank you, Draco, thank you Harry."

We both nodded and walked Severus out the door.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N I AM SO SORRY! Life has just gotten the best of me this past week, and I haven't had time to update. I hope that you guys haven't given up on this yet!

That being said, there's a bit of drama in this chapter, but nothing too life altering for Harry and Draco as before. Anyway, I could possibly be posting another chapter either later today or tomorrow. For now, I hope you enjoy this one!

We both nodded and walked Severus out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Harry pinned me against the wall and kissed me. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Harry kissed me again before he nuzzled my neck. He made a humming noise in the back of his neck. I wrapped my arms around him, and we just stayed there for a while. I was so content to have my Harry back in my arms. Neither of us was completely healed from when I left. I knew it would be a long road, but I knew Harry was worth it. After a while, I pulled back to look at Harry. I had just been reminded of something. "Harry, aren't you supposed to be going back to work soon? You were supposed to be in last month, but, well-"

Harry smiled nervously. "I quit."

"What?"

"I was so bored with my job anyway, and I only became an Auror because it was what was expected of me. So, I quit so I could completely love my life and spend it all with you."

"Harry, I know you're lying. You loved your job as an Auror. You quit because of me, Harry! I told you I didn't want you to! I want to you go tell them you want your job back! You love being an Auror! I can tell! I don't want you to be here all day! You should be working!"

Harry shook his head. "Why do you keep pushing me away? Draco, you are way more important to me than any job will ever be. I love spending time with you! And maybe I actually did want to quit my job."

"You love that job though!"

"Or maybe I'm just a really good actor."

"What?" Harry sent a stunning spell at me, quickly followed by his ring.

"I can't wear that knowing that you don't want me here and would rather have me away from you. I can't handle losing you again, so I'm not going to kick you out. I'll have the house elves move your things to the bedroom on the first floor. You'll know which one is yours." Then, Harry walked away.

If I hadn't been stunned, I would have hit my head against something hard with enough force to make sure I never said anything that stupid again. I stared at Harry's ring until the spell wore off. When I could move again, I picked it up. I felt the weight of the broken promises attached to this ring come over me. I couldn't believe I had pushed Harry away again. I walked down to the first floor, and Harry hadn't lied. I knew which one was my bedroom. All of my things were shoved into one corner of a room the size of about three broom closets put together. It was pitiful, yet it was more than I deserved. I deserved to burn in the deepest pit of whatever version of Hell there was out there.

For the next month, Harry and I avoided each other. I hoped he would come to me and tell me that all was forgiven, but I knew that was very unlikely. Eventually, I knew it was time to apologize. The potion was going to be in effect in two days, and it would last for a year after that. I wanted to give Harry the family he so obviously wanted, but first, I had to apologize to him, and I knew that would be a big step.

Three days later, I managed to work up the courage to sneak into the library without him noticing that I was there. He noticed me when I sat down on the stuffed chair next to him. He looked up, saw that it was me, and looked back down without a word. The last remaining hope that he would take me in his arms and forgive me without any effort on my part was killed in that moment.

"Harry," He still didn't look up "Harry, I'm sorry. I can't believe how incredibly stupid I was when I said that I would rather have you work than be with me. You are right. I am pushing you away, but not for the reason you think."

Harry looked up again, and I almost froze at the hatred in his eyes. "Then what is the reason."

I sighed. "I'm just as scared as you are. I'm terrified of being left behind or forgotten. I don't want to be hurt anymore."

"Anymore?" Curiosity killed the hatred in Harry's eyes.

"You aren't the only one in this world who had been cheated on."

"You were cheated on? By whom?"

"It's not important. What is important is that I still love you Harry, and I'm stupid to keep pushing you away. What you said about my ring leaving my finger was true in reverse. Please put this back on before I go insane." Harry took the ring from me and closed his hand around it.

"It is important. The ring stays in my hand until you tell me about who cheated on you."

"Are you threatening me?"

Shock flared into Harry eyes. "Oh Merlin, I am!" Harry's book fell from his hands to the ground as he froze.

"Harry? Harry, are you in there? Come on Harry, it's alright." I stood and pulled Harry into my lap. "Come on Harry, it'll be alright. Come back to me Harry." I kissed Harry's neck, and that seemed to bring him back.

"I'm so sorry I threatened you. That was wrong of me."

"It's alright. I forgive you. Merlin knows I've allowed my curiosity get the best of me."

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, do you want to know who cheated on me?"

"It can wait if you're not ready."

"I'll never be ready to face him again, but I'm going to tell you anyway. It's a long story."

Harry smiled, put his ring back on his finger, and burrowed deeper into me until he was comfortable. "I'm ready."

"I'm glad you are, 'cause this is going to take a while." Draco took a deep breath and started his story. "I fell in love with him around third year. Well, I thought I did. His love was nothing compared to yours, but that isn't important to the story. I loved that someone would finally hold me, and possibly love me. I was wrong. He was only affectionate at certain times in the day. Hindsight tells me this should have been a major warning sign. I was blinded, and I knew it, but I kept hoping that I was wrong and somehow was blowing something out of proportion. I wasn't. I went to find him and tell him something, I don't remember what now, but I found him with her. He was feeling her up, and she was returning it. I watched as much as I could before I cried out. He turned and smirked at me. I still remember his words. 'Enjoying the show, Drakey?' I turned and ran away until I couldn't run anymore. I collapsed there, and soon his arms wrapped around me. He whispered that he was put under a love potion, and seeing me hurt broke that spell, and that it would never happen again. I knew it was rubbish, but I fell for it anyway. I accepted him back. I was so damn stupid! I took him back, and he did it again! I went to get a book from the dorm room, and he was there with a guy this time. I didn't see the other bloke, since I was so focused on him. He looked up and laughed. 'Well this is awkward, isn't it, Drakey?' I ran again, and when he tried to apologize, I said 'You're not sorry,' and ran again. I ran as far as I could in the Forbidden Forest. I was attacked a couple times, but I deserved the pain for being so damn stupid! He hurt me more than I thought was humanly possible, and I have been so afraid that you'll wake up one day and remember who I am, and that you're so much better than me. You deserve better than an Ex-Death Eater, better than someone who tortured you for all of your school life. I know that it's only a matter of time before you find someone better."

Harry leaned up and kissed the tears I hadn't noticed running down my cheeks. "We're both so scarred, aren't we?"

I laughed dryly at the irony. "In more ways than one."

"Drake, I'm sorry that you were so hurt. I am familiar with the pain of going through that twice, but not after the person promised they wouldn't cheat again. I can't imagine. As for me leaving, I could never do that to you, or me. I love you, Draco, and there isn't anyone better for me than you. How many times do I have to tell you that I love you before you'll believe me?"

"How many more times do I have to tell you?"

"Touché. Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Give me your right hand."

I held up my ringed hand, and Harry took it. He became very calm and serious as he closed his eyes. "As long as we wear these rings, I will never cheat, never leave, and never hurt you. I promise that I will love you until the day I die, and no one will ever hurt you again when it is in my power to protect you. I will forget my pasts and face the future together with you. I love you, Draco."

I nodded. I would do whatever was necessary. "I will never cheat, leave, or hurt you. I will love you to the day that I die, and I will never, ever let anyone hurt you when it is in my power to protect you. No one will touch you other than those who have our permission, for no one else has that right. I will forget the past and love you until the day I die. I cannot wait to forget the past and look forward to spending my future with you."

We simultaneously kissed the other's ring, and we felt the magic stirred at the beginning of the pact settle. It was finished, and Harry and I were as good as married.

I couldn't settle the happy butterflies in my stomach. The feeling wasn't helped when Harry pressed his lips to mine. He had never kissed me like this before. I don't think I can explain exactly how it felt. He kissed me with desperation, passion, love, and a need I couldn't describe. Then Harry started to unbutton my shirt. I understood where he was going, so I pulled away before all thought left me. "Harry, are you sure you want this? I thought you wanted to wait."

"I wanted to wait until I was sure that we would be married. We basically just stated our vows. I belong to you, and for the first time in my life, that fact doesn't piss me off. I want this, Draco. I want you."

"Who am I to deny you what you want?" I smiled into Harry's kiss. Harry continued to remove my shirt and rub my chest. I had never felt anything this good in my life. I soon decided that Harry was wearing way too many clothes and started to fix that problem.

Soon enough, Harry and I found ourselves in our bedroom, and the exact details are for two of us to know. I will say that Harry is even more beautiful than should be humanly possible, and he is the most amazing person in the world.

We fell asleep in each other's arms.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N You can thank Jinnxxed and jeyjeylu for annoying me just enough to post this chapter. To Jinnxxed I would like to say that I often wondered why Harry isn't a pureblood, so thank you for clearing that up, but for some reason I seem to think that somewhere in the books Draco or someone else referred to Harry as a Halfblood, either that or I imagined it. So to make you happy, think of it this way; in my Harry Potter universe (however fake it is) only people who have magical blood in every single generation of their family are purebloods. So, thanks to you, I will be spending the rest of my weekend looking through the books and various internet sites to figure this out. Also, next time, you can be a bit more polite about it.

And to jeyjeylu, if you are reading this, would you please explain to me what the hell you mean? I've thought about it, and I have no idea what you are talking about. How so? So caring for someone makes you a Mary Sue? Do you want Draco to be cold and throw Harry away? Would it make you happy if Draco stopped caring for Harry? I have no idea in the world what you're talking about. Clear things up for me.

*Deep breath* Sorry, I'm not very nice when I get angry…… Now that that's finished, I hope you all enjoy the promised extra chapter for today. Oh, and, fair warning, there's a cliffhanger at the end =D

I woke up the next morning, refreshed. It was the perfect morning until I saw Harry. I was instantly awake and concerned. I pulled him into my lap. "Babe, why are you crying like this?"

"I can' believe what I did last night!"

I felt numb. Did he regret it? I thought it was perfect. Did I do something wrong? I barely managed to choke out my question. "Why?"

"I forced you into that! You didn't say you wanted that, and I didn't even care! I took you anyway!"

"Harry, I was a Malfoy once. If I didn't want to do that, no one could make me. Trust me. Plus, I did want that. I've wanted that ever since you proposed to me."

Harry's shocked eyes looked up to me. "You waited that long?"

"You wanted me to. I respect you too much. Plus, I love you, and I didn't want to push you until you were ready. Which, judging by last night, you were ready for that."

Harry sucked in his breath in alarm. "Did I hurt you? Oh, Merlin, Draco, I am so sorry! I messed up again!"

I kissed Harry to shut him up. He was going to get himself so worked up that he wouldn't listen to me. "Harry, I'm fine. I only feel a little sore, but it's the best pain I've ever been in. You have nothing to apologize for, and you only made things better. Harry, I love you."

"So I didn't hurt you?"

"No. I am fine."

"And you wanted that?"

"More than anything."

Harry sighed in relief. "I love you too, Draco. I'm sorry that you woke up to me crying like this."

I shook my head. Harry really liked to apologize. "I think of it this way. I'd rather wake up to you crying than to wake up without you at all."

Harry slowly kissed me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome and thank you for last night."

"You're welcome." I thought of how perfect our first time was, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Harry, the potion took effect about a day ago."

Harry's eyes widened. "Is that what you want?"

"I'm happy! We can have our family!"

I saw relief in Harry's eyes. "Then I am happy too!" Harry kissed me again, and I knew everything was healed between us, for good this time.

To tell the truth, I was scared shitless. What if I wasn't ready for this? Neither Harry nor I had a proper upbringing, so what if I couldn't meet the child's needs? What if Harry decided that I couldn't properly care for the child? I shook off my doubts and let the peace of being around Harry surround me, and suddenly, I wasn't afraid anymore. He promised he would never leave me, and that was all I needed to know. I suddenly felt bolder and decided to keep my word. "Harry, why are you less honourable than Neville? I don't want to intrude, but I am curious."

Harry sighed. "You told me about your cheater, though I still don't know his name. Shh," he interrupted me from telling him, "I don't want to know unless you decided to tell me. I can wait. Anyway, since you told me about your cheater, I guess I'll tell you." Harry sighed again. "I am a murderer. I killed countless people. Neville is innocent. He never killed anyone, even in the Final Battle."

"Harry, you killed Voldemort because you had to! He would have killed you if you hadn't! This is pointless guilt!"

"No, it's not pointless! I understand that I killed him because I had to, but I didn't have to enjoy it! I enjoyed seeing the light leave my victim's eyes and I enjoyed seeing them fall to the ground, knowing that they wouldn't ever move again. I enjoyed killing them! What if I turn Dark? What if I choose to become like Voldemort?"

"Harry, I know you won't become like Voldemort."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because you aren't."

"Draco, you aren't making sense!"

"You're worried that you'll become like the Dark Lord. That's how I know that you won't. Also, you are way too kind hearted to become the cruel monster he was."

"But I enjoyed killing those people!"

I was losing ground here, and fast. Harry was shooting my points down everywhere, and I became desperate. I wanted to help Harry so badly, but I couldn't think of how. Finally, I decided to try and make Harry tell himself what I had been trying to tell him. "What was going through your head as you hit them?"

Harry's face became shocked, and I worried that I had pushed yet another line too far. Then, Harry spoke. "I thought how the people had been corrupted by false power, and how they could have been great people, had they not become minions to some lunatic. Also, I felt proud that I had been the one to kill them, because it meant that I wasn't as weak as I had been told, and that they would never hurt anyone again." I knew it was working when Harry's voice became lighter as he continued to talk.

I smiled, although something he said bothered me. "See? You don't murder in cold blood. You killed those people because they would have killed for no reason. You have nothing to be guilty about."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Draco."

I smiled again, but this time Harry caught on.

"What's wrong?"

"You were worried that you were weak? Was that my fault?"

Harry shook his head hurriedly back and forth. "No! No, it wasn't you, although you did say it enough. By that point I had learned to ignore you." Harry looked apologetic.

"I understand. Who was it that told you that you were weak?"

"It wasn't so much that he told me, it was more a self-made conclusion. After all, if I couldn't protect myself from my Muggle uncle, then I knew I had no chance defeating the most powerful wizard. Mad, yes, but still the most powerful."

I clenched and unclenched my fists so many times that blood was drawn from where my nails had dug into my hand. I thought the pain would clear my head, but it only made me wonder what Harry had been through. "Harry, where exactly do your dear relatives live?"

"Are you going to kill them?"

"No. Merlin, I want to, but I can't. I promised you that I would be here for you forever, and going to Azkaban for murdering your relatives doesn't fit into that plan."

Harry looked relieved. "Alright. As long as you don't get hurt in any way, shape, or form, I'll give you the address."

"I promise."

Harry nodded. "It's number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey."

I kissed him quickly. "I'll be right back. Would you mind working on the wedding plans while I'm gone? Put things the way you would want them, and we'll decide when I get back, okay?"

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Harry, I prefer to do this alone. I don't want you to have to face the family that tortured you for so long. Please don't make me witness that."

Harry thought about it, and finally, he slowly nodded. "I understand. Please hurry."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

I apparated to the Ministry. I repressed the shudder of dislike as I walked up to the secretary. I still don't like this place.

"Can I help you?"

"Do you make Muggle arrests for abuse to a magical child?" I truly didn't know, and it was borderline annoying.

"Yes, but you would have to talk to the Wizarding World Child Protection Agency for arrests because of abuse. Wait a minute. You're Harry Potter's, uh, partner, aren't you?"

I sighed. "Fiancé. Yes, I am Harry Potter's fiancé."

"So our ex Head Auror was abused?"

Damn. "That is not for me to tell you."

The secretary glared. "Fine. Let me have someone take you to talk to the WWCPA."

I smiled sweetly, though it was fake. "Thank you."

Minutes later, a man walked to me. "Are you the man who has a report of a Muggle abusing a magical child?"

The man was definitely Irish. "Yes. Can we talk somewhere private?"

"Certainly. Right this way, sir." We walked to his office. "Please take a seat."

"Thank you."

"Now, how can I help you?"

"Before I tell you anything, I need you to make an Unbreakable Vow that you will tell no one what I am about to tell you."

"I cannot do that. My team has to know, and if you want said Muggle to be prosecuted, I will have to testify in court."

I sighed. I would have to word the Vow very carefully. "Alright, how about this. You make an Unbreakable Vow that states you will only tell your team, after they have sworn not to tell anyone. I will oversee the Vows, and further than that, you can only tell people who you have my permission to tell."

The man nodded. "Alright. Let me get my assistant to make the Vows."

"No. I have a better idea."

The man looked shocked, but nodded anyway.

"Thank you. DOBBY!"

Pop. "Hello, Master Malfoy."

"Please, call me Draco." I never in a million years would have thought that I was asking a House Elf to call me by my first name. Harry was rubbing off on me. "I am no longer a Malfoy, and you won't be treated like you were before. I am sorry for that."

Fat tears welled up in Dobby's eyes. "Thank you Master Draco, sir!"

"You're welcome, Dobby. Now, I have a favour to ask of you."

The man interrupted me. "A House Elf? You want a House Elf to oversee the Vow?"

"Not just any House Elf. This one almost died to save Harry Potter."

Dobby exploded. "Master Harry is so nice to Dobby! Master Harry freed Dobby from Dobby's evil old Master!"

"Dobby, please be quiet for a couple minutes, okay?"

"Dobby is sorry, Master Draco."

"It's alright." I turned back to the man. "I want Dobby to oversee the Vows. He won't tell anyone anything."

"Fine."

"Thank you." I turned back to Dobby. "Dobby, can you perform an Unbreakable Vow between Mr.," I looked up.

"My name is Seamus Finnegan."


	27. Chapter 27

A/N Okay guys! I'm back. Thanks to my fondly nicknamed Support Group, consisting of Silverstargirl, Emmettsgirl4evr, and Makurayami, I am back! They have helped me get over the idiot MightyGryffindor, and have inspired me to continue with this. In hindsight, I realize I probably shouldn't have threatened to discontinue this, because then MightyGryffindor would win, and nobody wants that. =D

So, I have decided to leave that in the past, let him/her rant about untrue things, and ignore them. As of now, my life and this story will be continued as usual.

So once again, a huge thank you to Silverstargirl, Emmettsgirl4evr, and Makurayami for helping me out. This chapter is for you!

"_My name is Seamus Finnegan."_

I couldn't believe it. "I thought you were an Auror!"

"I was until a couple weeks ago. With Harry gone, I couldn't stay there. I only worked under him because of what Ginny Weasley did to him."

"You cheated with her though!"

"I had no idea. I should have known, but I was too lustful of her. Harry and I had been close friends in school, and I feel horrible about what I did to him. So, I pretended to love Ginny, and after a while I started to drop little hints that I was cheating. Her face when she found out was priceless."

"So you felt guilty and decided to cheat on Ginny to get back at her for Harry, right?"

"I did. I feel so horrible that he got that drunk and desperate because of me."

"Desperate?"

"I found him the day before he quit in a bathroom. He tried to kill himself." Seamus hung his head.

"How?"

"He cut his wrists."

I went numb. "Seamus, make the Vow. If what you told me is true, you're going to have a lot of fun in a couple of minutes."

He looked at me distrustfully, but nodded anyway.

When the Vow was finished, he turned to me again. "Now why are you here?"

"Harry was severely abused as a child. I have seen the scars he hides personally, and even though he won't show it, I believe he is severely traumatized by his past."

"Can I see the memories?"

I nodded. Seamus brought out a Pensieve, and I put every single memory of Harry's various scars, burns, and cuts into the bowl. "I don't want to have to face those again. Go ahead. I'll be out here."

Seamus nodded and disappeared into the bowl.

Ten minutes later, he was back. "All of that is true?"

I nodded.

"How did you get these memories?"

"He and I are getting married."

"Harry's gay?"

"No, he's mine. The fact that I am a guy has absolutely nothing to do with it. Love is love, and it had no boundaries." I was sick of getting that reaction from people.

"Good point."

"Thank you."

"Now, I am sure you want to arrest these people now, but I need to see the scars for myself."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Harry isn't ready to face the man who he thought destroyed his life," Seamus flinched, "even if it was unknowingly."

"I'll make an exception, simply because the case is so personal. Do you know where Harry's relatives live?"

I nodded. "Number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey."

"Are you coming?"

"Hell yes."

Seamus shook his head and smiled slightly. "Let's go then." He held out a Portkey, and soon we landed in a very Muggle place. We found number 4, and Seamus knocked.

A fat man opened the door. "Can I help you?"

Seamus spoke up. "We would like to see the place your nephew lived."

The fat man turned purple. "His bedroom is upstairs."

"No, not that."

I turned to Seamus in shock. What was he talking about?

It seemed the fat man was confused too. "What are you talking about?"

Had Seamus lost his mind? "I shared a dorm with Harry at our school,"

"I WILL NOT HAVE YOU FREAKS IN MY HOUSE!"

"Mr. Dursley, I am afraid you really don't have a choice. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Would you please care to show us where your nephew lived the first ten years of his life?"

The man shook his head just as an equally fat younger version of the man and a horse-faced woman walked through the door. Seamus stunned the younger man. "Perhaps your son would be more willing to show us? Or, perhaps we could just go through his mind to find what we want, although this would ultimately destroy his mind and kill him. If I don't receive your cooperation in this matter, I will not hesitate to destroy him."

Seamus and the fat man continued to stare at each other, and here I was beginning to get uncomfortable. Was Seamus really willing to go that far as to destroy the man?

"Alright. One less Muggle in the world."

Seamus looked into the younger man's eyes, and suddenly I understood. Seamus wasn't going to enter his mind. He was playing with these people. He had no intention of harming anyone. I relaxed and enjoyed the brilliance of the man.

Finally, the woman cracked. "I'll show you! Just please don't hurt my Duddikins!" I snickered at the nickname.

"Thank you."

"The boy lived here." She pointed to a small door. I thought it was kind of cool that for the first ten years of his life, Harry had a door to his room that was his size. "It was more than he deserved anyway. He was lucky that we gave him that, after his stupid parents had to kill themselves in a car accident. They left us with their ungrateful son," I sent a silencing spell at the woman. I couldn't stand listening to her rant anymore. Plus, I knew it was all untrue.

My attention was pulled from the lies the woman was spewing when Seamus stepped in front of the door. "Draco, why don't you go home?"

"Why?"

"You don't need to see what's in there. Trust me; I have enough evidence to put these people away for a long time. You don't need to be here anymore."

What had Seamus seen in the room that had shaken him up so much? "Move. I want to see."

"No you don't."

"Don't you dare tell me what I want to do! I had enough of that from my father!"

"Sorry, but I warned you."

I shook my head at his weird behaviour. He moved out of the way, and I opened the small door. The smell alone was unbelievable. Then what I was seeing caught up to me. There was dried blood splattered everywhere, and a deep pool of it still on a small blanket in the corner. Where was Harry's bed? I voiced my question, and was even more angered at Seamus' response.

"He slept there." He pointed to the blanket.

"How do you know?"

"That amount of blood can't be gathered in a short amount of time. He would have to stay there for over I'd say seven hours to gather that much blood, even in ten years."

"Or he had to be so injured that he couldn't move."

Seamus' eyes widened. "That makes sense."

"Still, I think he did sleep here."

"I'm going to go look around more."

I nodded and went back to the cupboard. I couldn't believe Harry had lived through this. How had he lost that much blood? He shouldn't be alive! I reached out and touched the dark crimson substance, and was shocked to find that it was still wet.

It had been about ten years since Harry had been in that place, and still his blood was wet. I couldn't contain myself any longer. I spun to the 'people.' "HE WAS YOUR NEPHEW! YOU MADE HIM SUFFER BECAUSE OF YOUR JEALOUSY! YOU DISCUSTING THINGS COULD HAVE KILLED YOUR OWN FAMILY MEMBER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? HARRY DIDN'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS!"

"THE FREAK DESERVED EVERYTHING WE GAVE TO HIM!" I slapped the man across the face. I couldn't believe he had just said that. The feeling was unreal. The man had seriously just said that my sweet Harry deserved to be injured to the point of near-death.

"HARRY DESERVED NONE OF THAT! I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW HE IS ALIVE RIGHT NOW! HOW COULD ANYONE HAVE SURVIVED THAT?"

"I don't know. His freakishness must have saved him. Every time I would do something to him, an hour later, he was fine. No normal person could do that!"

It hit me. I was jealous of Harry's ability to heal himself, until now. I thought it was a gift, but I was wrong. Harry's magic had saved him from dying from abuse. His body must have needed to regenerate blood, and so his magic must have complied. Harry's frequent battles with Voldemort must have honed that curse more, bringing the time down from an hour to five minutes. I couldn't believe it. I fell over, my line of vision lined up directly with the cupboard.

I couldn't help but wonder, how many times had Harry's uncle had this exact same view, and how many times had he seen a bleeding and broken child?

"What kind of people are you? How cold do you have to be to see a bleeding, dying child in your house, and not be heartbroken? I can't even understand how you people justify that with yourselves. You are the worst kind of Muggles."

I was so busy staring at the place where my Harry had been broken, that I never noticed the fat man leave the room.

I didn't notice his return either, until I felt something cold being pushed against my head and I heard it make a clicking noise. I didn't know what the device was, but I was sure it wasn't good.

"Now, you must be a freak like the boy, so you don't deserve to be in this world. Don't you dare call out to the other freak. I'll just shoot you faster. You freaks probably don't know what a gun is, but I have so conveniently arranged a demonstration."

I understood now. I was going to die. Harry had explained to me what a gun is a couple weeks ago. This 'man' was about to blow me apart. The worst part was that I promised Harry I wouldn't get hurt. Once again, I broke my promise to him.

"You have two minutes to tell me where my punching bag is, and I'll let you go free. Refuse, and I'll kill you and the freak."

"I will never betray Harry."

"You might want to reconsider that decision."

"Never."

"Very well."

I felt the man put his finger to the trigger, and I closed my eyes, ready to die. I would be added to the name of people who had died for Harry. I hoped that he didn't feel guilty, but I knew that was ridiculous. I knew Harry would blame himself.

All of this ran through my head as I heard the trigger pull back, and I braced myself for the pain.

"NO!"

I didn't know what happened, but suddenly the gun was pulled away from my head, and there were two bodies fighting on the ground.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but I was in Pasco (I doubt very many of you know where that is, but I'll telling you anyway) and I really didn't have time to update. But I'm back home now, (and back in school! YUCK!) and I can update to my heart's content, which will be, of course, determined by your reviews! Thank y'all very much! Enjoy!

I shakily stood up with the help of Seamus. "Thanks."

Seamus nodded. "What happened?"

"I wasn't paying attention, and the man put a gun to my head. He wanted me to tell him where Harry is, and I told him he wouldn't, so he started to pull the trigger. Just as he did, he was tackled by... uh, I don't know who," I was reminded of the fight on the floor. Seamus sent two quick stunning spells at the people. I couldn't believe what I saw.

The younger man had taken out his father for me. Why?

"Seamus, let the younger one go. He saved me."

Seamus did, but only from his pudgy neck up.

"Why did you save me?"

"My dad's not a murderer. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's not usually like this."

"What is he usually like?"

"He's a very nice person."

"Have you seen the cupboard under the stairs?"

"No. Mum and Dad say that it's beneath me to go crawling around in dusty holes in the wall." I couldn't believe the similarities between the fat man and Lucius, and the younger one and my old self. Had I really been that ignorant?

Seamus continued for me. "You honestly don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Harry was abused by your father."

"Dad would never do that!"

"Yes, he did. The evidence is here. If you would leave your dignity alone right now and look in the cupboard, you would see all you need to know."

The younger fat man looked at me and nodded. Seamus unfroze him and he knelt down and looked into the 'hole in the wall'. "What was killed in here?"

"Nothing was killed, but it was almost your cousin."

"What? Dad would never do that."

"What's your name?"

"Dudley."

"Right. Dudley, your father did do this, and your mother stood by and watched. You may be innocent, but we will need confirmation from Harry that you never hurt him."

"This happened while he was living here?"

"Yes." Duh! When else would it have happened?

"Then I am not innocent. I bullied him around, but I never knew why he hated this place so much. I only knew that my parents hated him, so naturally, I should too. It never occurred to me that there could be more going on. Though I am not innocent, please tell him that I am sorry that I hurt him, especially if he did go through this."

I nodded. "I will."

"Thank you."

Seamus put a hand on my shoulder. "It's time to go. I'm sure Harry is starting to worry."

"You're right. Goodbye Dudley."

"Goodbye."

Seamus looked at the fat man again. "Do you have any rope?"

Dudley followed Seamus' gaze. "Yeah. That's probably a good idea. I'll be right back."

As soon as Dudley left the room, I turned to Seamus. "Did you find anything upstairs?"

Seamus nodded. "Yes."

I waited, but Seamus didn't seem to want to continue. I sighed. "What did you find?"

"There is a room that smells like this one," he indicated the cupboard, "and looked at it. There were multiple locks on the door-"

"So Harry finally got some privacy."

"No. The locks were on the outside of the door. Just as they made this his prison, so did they make his room."

"Did you go inside?"

"Yes, but I don't want to go into details."

"I need to know."

Seamus sighed. Just as he was about to tell me, or so I would like to think, Dudley came back. "Here's the rope. It's pretty thick."

"Thank you, Dudley. Come on Draco, help me get him into the chair over there."

I looked at him. "Can we, you know,"

"He is Harry's cousin. I'm sure he knows about magic."

"I do. Harry threatened me with it enough, but I understand why now, and I really don't blame him."

We nodded in acceptance. Good. Then this would be easier.

Seamus and I lifted the enormous man into a chair and secured him with the rope.

I turned to Dudley. "Will you be safe now that you defended me?"

"I will be fine. I'll just talk my way out of it. My father thinks I can do no wrong."

"Alright. He'll wake up as soon as we leave here."

Dudley nodded. "Tell Harry that I am very sorry."

"I will." –after I tell him some very important things of my own.

"Thank you, and goodbye. Good luck with whatever you are working on."

"Thank you." I didn't have the heart to tell this man that he was probably going to be condemned by our work; not after he saved me like that.

Seamus and I walked out of the house and heard yelling, followed by silence. I didn't know what happened, but I figured everything would be okay. We apparated back to Seamus' office.

"Draco, Harry will probably want to know where you are. You wouldn't want to worry him."

"That's very true, but I need to know what you saw in Harry's bedroom."

Seamus sighed as he fell into a chair. "You're not going to leave until you have the answers, are you?"

"Nope. I can be here for as long as I need to. I can just write Harry to tell him where I am."

Seamus sighed again. "Fine. Once I undid all of the locks, I walked in, and the smell of despair and blood was unbelievable. There was more blood in that cot than there was in the cupboard. And there were chains attached to the wall above the cot. To have survived that is amazing. Draco, don't hurt him. You can't know how unbelievably special your fiancé is. I don't know any other person who could have survived that. Only Harry."

This couldn't be real. "Chains?"

"Yes. There were chains in his bedroom."

"I AM GOING TO KILL THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A MAN! HE IS GOING TO REGRET THE DAY HE FIRST LAID A HAND ON MY HARRY, AND EVERY SINGLE TIME AFTER!"

I could feel myself lose control of my magic, but I couldn't care. Who were they to dare touch my Harry?

"DRACO! DRACO, PLEASE CALM DOWN! THIS IS MY ONLY OFFFICE!"

Seamus must have been yelling for a while. He was going hoarse.

I closed my eyes and imagined the first time Harry and I kissed, and the first time we made love. I smiled and immediately felt my magic return to me.

"Thank you, Draco. Now, I want to kill them too, but it can't be as badly as you want them dead. But please listen to me, Harry doesn't need you going-"

"Spare me the lecture. I am not going to kill those people, no matter how much I want to. I promised Harry I wouldn't."

"Oh, okay. Well then, I guess that's all you need to be here for. I'll send you the court date as soon as I can, and those sick people should be in our custody by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you."

"I'm just doing my job."

"But you Vowed to keep it a secret, and not a lot of people would do that."

"Thank you then, I guess."

I smiled. "Seamus, would you like to have a chance to apologize to Harry?"

"You would give me that chance?"

"I would just need five minutes to explain what's going on, so that he doesn't explode on you."

"Then I can apologize to him for everything?"

"I can take you there now."

"Will he be mad at you for bringing me to see him? I can't imagine how he feels after that happened to him."

"I know the extent of the damage that was done to him because of you and Ginny, but I believe that he is healed enough to understand if given enough time. Come on, you don't have a choice. I'll apparate us both in, and you'll wait in the main room until I bring Harry to you, understand?"

"I understand, and thank you for this."

"You're welcome. Let's go." I grabbed Seamus' arm and took us away to Potter Mansion. "Stay here." I went to find Harry. Once again, he was in the library, and once again, he was playing his guitar. This time, there were no lyrics.

"Hey, babe." I kissed his head.

"Hey Drake. How did it go?"

"Good. The court date should be coming up soon. Do you think you could testify against them?"

"I can handle it."

"Alright. Harry, can you drop your glamour for me?"

I could tell he was confused, but I had to know. "Sure Drake." Soon my scarred Harry was sitting in front of me.

I grabbed one of his wrists and shook my head. "The ones on your wrists too."

Harry gasped. "What do you know about those?"

"I am not going to judge you for them, you know that. I just need to see something. Please, Harry."

Harry looked into my eyes, and finally nodded. I looked back down, and there it was: a long pink line that looked so out of place on Harry's skin. It went all the way around his wrist.

"Is there one on the other one too?"

Harry nodded again, ashamed. I titled his head up and kissed him slowly. I pulled back and removed the glamours covering my own wrists. I held one next to Harry's wrist. "We match."

"What?" Harry looked at my wrist, and then back at his.

"I spent time lock up in chains as well, though mine wasn't nearly as horrific as yours. Harry, I cannot believe that you lived like that! The blood in the cupboard is still wet!"

"I'm sorry okay! I'm sorry I'm too stupid to keep myself from being harmed!" Harry pulled his wrist away from mine and put his head in his hands and cried.

"Harry, you know I didn't mean it like that. Babe, I'm so sorry. I just can't believe that you lived through that, that you are still here with me today. I love you so much, and just knowing that I could have missed out on this because of one man just makes me sick. I'm so sorry that no one noticed. You shouldn't have been there once that started." I pulled a still crying Harry into my lap.

"I'm sorry too, Drake. I'm making this way more dramatic than it needs to be."

"No, I understand."

"Thank you."

We sat a while with each other, until the point where I felt bad for leaving Seamus alone out there. "Harry, there is someone here to talk to you."

Harry grumbled. "Who is it?"

"Seamus Finnegan."


	29. Chapter 29

A/N Hey guys, sorry that it's been so long, but summer's coming up, and that means it's time for teachers to go crazy with homework, plus finals are coming up. Gah! Anyway, I hope that I haven't lost all of my wonderful reviewers! Please read and review!

"YOU BROUGHT SEAMUS-"

"HARRY LISTEN TO ME!" Harry immediately shut up. "Thank you. I brought him here because he is the one who is going to help with the Dursley's. I had a similar reaction when he told me is name, but when I gave him a chance to explain, everything became clear. Please give him a chance, Harry."

"Fine. I'll give him one chance to explain himself, and if it's not good, then he had better get the hell out of my life."

"Thank you, Harry. Let's go."

"Fine." I pulled him after me. Seamus immediately straightened up and began to fidget.

I whispered in Harry's ear. "Keep an open mind." Harry nodded, and I straightened up and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind him. "You can do it."

"What do you want Finnegan. Taking my girlfriend wasn't enough for you?"

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that she was cheating. She said that you were helping her learn some advanced stuff. I was so stupid to believe what she told me, but I wanted her so badly that I was willing to believe anything. I can't believe that she played us for so long, and that I was so stupid. When I found out, I immediately wanted to hurt her, but I decided to pay her back. I began to cheat with another girl, and she and I are now married. I love her more than anything, but I still cannot believe that I allowed her to use me to hurt you, and I don't know how I can make it up to you. I doubt I can, but I want to know how I can try. Please forgive me, Harry."

***

I studied Seamus' body language as he spoke; it was a habit I picked up from my time as an Auror. He seemed sincere. He honestly wanted me to forgive him, and he was truly sorry. But could I honestly forgive the man that helped tear my life apart? Could I honestly just forget the misery that this man put me through so easily? I didn't know if I could.

Then I looked at the desperate man. He was still staring at the ground.

I was about to reply when he spoke again. "I will never be able to forgive myself for what happened, and I'm not surprised that you can't either. I made the stupidest mistake of my life that day, and I wish I had come right to you, instead of taking things into my own hands. Harry, you are an amazing person, and any person who has the right to be your friend is very lucky. I just wanted to apologize for what I did, and I am so sorry for the pain I caused you. The image that will haunt me forever is the one of you lying in that bathroom, blood surrounding you, practically dead. I am so sorry that I caused that. I'll leave now."

Seamus turned to leave, but I pulled out of Draco's arms and put a hand on his shoulder to make him stop. "Seamus, do you want to know one of the worst things about being Harry Potter is?"

"What?"

"Besides the fact that almost everyone close to me had died, and that I had a murder after me for my whole life, it was the fact that I can heal myself within five minutes of receiving an injury."

"Why would that be one of the worst?"

Draco spoke up. "His ability comes from the abuse he suffered. His magic defended him, and the ability remains with him today."

"No, Draco, that's not the reason. The reason that it is among the worst is because I couldn't kill myself. I couldn't take myself from this world, no matter how badly I wanted to."

"Harry! Don't say that!" I didn't know Draco could yell that loudly.

I shrugged. "It's true."

"Harry," I knew Seamus would ask, "how many times have you tried?"

"You can only jump out of a tower so many times before it sets in that you're stuck in this world."

"But how many times? A number, please?" His voice was desperately bleak. It was that instant that I forgave him for everything he had done. He was no longer concerned about my forgiveness, only my welfare.

I thought about it. "The time you found me was the twentieth."

"Twenty times!"

"Have you tried any time recently?"

"The time you found me was the second to last. I found a reason to live awhile ago." I grabbed Draco's hand.

"Harry, why did you try to kill yourself so many times?"

I felt my eyes harden. "You try having the fate of the world on your shoulders. You try knowing that every single person in the world, Magical or Muggle, is depending on you to save them, that if you fail, everyone you love will be killed. YOU TRY KNOWING THAT YOUR PARENTS AND GODFATHER, THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER SHOWED YOU WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE AT LEAST A PARENT, DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! WHEN YOUR BEST FRIENDS FOLLOW, YEAH, YOUR WORLD TENDS TO GO TO HELL! THE DARK LORD AND I WERE LINKED, AND I WONDERED SO MANY TIMES WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I KILLED MYSELF! I HATED THAT I HAD TO RESORT TO THAT, BUT I COULDN'T HANDLE BEING IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE!" I took a deep breath. "And having that release taken from me was more than I could handle, so it soon became an obsession. I would try to see what could kill me. Ron found me the first time, and every single time after that, he would give me time, find me, clean the blood off of me, and bandage the wounds that would be gone moments later. He never scolded me for it, and he was always waiting for me, whether it was after attempted suicide, or just after I was done with homework. He was the best friend I have ever had, and his is the death I regret the most."

"I am so sorry. I didn't think when I asked that, and I understand what you mean. But Harry, there are people here who love you, who need you. Just look at Draco." Draco's head snapped up. "He knows that you love him, but just knowing that you tried to kill yourself is enough to make him look sick. I can't imagine what he is feeling right now."

Draco's voice was shaky. "He's right. I can't imagine my life right now if I didn't have you. I probably would be lying rotting in some dungeon cell at the bottom of Malfoy Manor. Harry, I need you so much. Can we please stop talking about Harry's attempts on his life? I can't handle it anymore."

"I'm sorry, Drake. We'll stop." Draco was about to cry, so I pulled him into my arms. "Hold on Shay." I turned back to Draco. "Babe, please don't cry. I know that I was stupid in the past, and I swear that as long as you live, I will never try to kill myself again. But I need you strong for this."

"But how can I not break down? How can you be so sweet today, after living through those horrors? I can't understand how you turned out like this! Harry, I can't even understand how you can be like this! You don't deserve anything that happened to you! Why did it have to be you?"

I wrapped my arms around him. "I know, Draco. I have often wondered that very same thing, and even though I regret every death that had to happen, even though I hate that I let all those people die, and that I killed, if I had the chance, I wouldn't change a thing."

"You wouldn't?"

"No. I wouldn't be the same person I am today if everything had gone right in my life. I am the result of my past actions and occurrences, and whatever I want to be in the future depends on my present actions. I have become who I am because I know what it is like to go through hell, and I know how to enjoy life when it's good."

"You're amazing, Harry."

I kissed him. "Thank you." I turned back to Seamus. "Shay, I don't know if I will ever fully trust you again, but I am going to try. I forgive you."

"I understand, Harry. Although I wish we could be the friends we once were, I understand that I hurt you, and that you are trying to forgive me is much farther than I ever thought I would get. You called me Shay again, and I cannot explain how good it feels to hear that from you. So, I thank you. I wish you the best of happiness in your life, and I am so glad that you have found your mate in Draco. You love him like I love my Alina."

I nodded. "I wish you happiness as well."

"Thank you Harry."

Seamus turned to leave, but Draco spoke first. "Oh, come on Harry. Give him a hug. He's been feeling guilty for too long. You've made up." Draco started laughing. "I sound like my mother! I never thought I would say that in my life!"

I shook my head. "Draco, you're going insane."

Draco stopped laughing and pretended to pout.

I rolled my eyes. "But you know I love you for it."

The pout immediately disappeared from his face as it was replaced by a face-splitting smile. "Love you too, babe!"

I walked to Seamus. "He really is going insane though." I smiled, and opened my arms. Seamus stepped into me, and the rift between two friends was healed.

"I'll see you around, Harry. Do you think you'll be coming back to the Ministry?"

"No. I no longer see the joy in working for something I was tired of. I only became an Auror because it was expected of me, and I am sick of wondering every day if I earned my rank, or if it was given to me because of my fame. I have found happiness, and I intend to spend every possible moment glorifying in it."

"If only all of us were that lucky."

I laughed dryly. "Lucky isn't exactly the word I would use to describe myself, or my life. But in financial eyes, yes, I am lucky. But aren't men turned to beasts by that very thing? If it was not necessary, I would throw all of it away."

"Why not give it away? Others could benefit from it."

"Exactly. If I were to give it away, others would be faced with the exact same problem. I would simply be transferring the power, and the sweet corruption, to another. I've learned money does not buy happiness, nor should any person try. Money and lies are the true double edged swords of this world."

"You are wise beyond your years, Harry. I wonder what world we would live in, if all were as wise as you."

"My 'wisdom' comes from seeing too much in too short of a time. I wouldn't wish this bitter gift on any other person."

"But will you pass the wisdom on?"

"It depends on who is listening."

"What do you mean?"

"To some, wisdom cannot be passed on. It has to be learned through experience, and it is the hardest thing, to stand by and watch a loved one have to go through the exact same thing you did, only to learn the lesson you tried to teach them in the beginning. Life is unfairly just in that way."

"Wow. This is getting a little too complicated for me."

I laughed. "So it is. Go home. I'm sure Alina will be wondering where you are. It is long past working hours, Shay. From now on, my doors are always open to you and your family. I would love to meet your family."

"Sure. I know they'll want to meet the great Harry Potter. I'll owl you later."

I rolled my eyes. "Sounds good. Bye Shay."

"Bye, Harry." I watched as Seamus walked out the door, and then I turned to Draco.

"Thank you for bringing him here. I can't hate anymore, and he is the only person left who I wanted to forgive."

"You're welcome, Harry. This is going to be totally random, but can I borrow your guitar?"

I was confused, but I nodded. "Sure, hold on." I went and got my guitar and handed it to Draco.

A/N: Ok! Next chapter is going to have a song in it, and once again, it does not belong to me. It belongs to Clay Walker, and if anyone can guess the song, then they'll get a oneshot with the situation and pairing of their choosing. Please guess! Thank you for your time!


	30. Chapter 30

A/N Sorry for the long wait! And a huge THANK YOU to Emmettsgirl4ever for the help when I got stuck. You all should praise her and give her your undying gratitude! Now, on to the good 9 pages (in Word) of this chapter! I made it extra long to make up for the wait! Hope you enjoy!

Wait-I was going to put this at the bottom, but I can't ruin what I have down there! So here it is! –HOLY CRAP! I have 30 chapters already! This thing isn't even close to being finished! Is there a record for the longest fanfiction? I just might have to go for it! Alright, now onto the story, and my apologies for the long Author's Notes.......... ENJOY!

I took the guitar from Harry, glad of his easy compliance. It was time I showed him how much he meant to me.

"I haven't played in a while, so I apologize if this is bad." I began to play the song I had remembered a couple days ago. It was my favourite song a long time ago, and its meaning meant more to me now than I could describe at the time. Only two words came to mind when I tried to describe it now. The song meant Harry and safety for both of us.

**Hold up, there you go again,  
Putting on that smile again,  
Even though I know you've had a bad day.  
Doing this and doing that,  
Always putting yourself last,  
A whole lot of give,  
And not enough take.  
But you can only be strong so long  
Before you break.**

**So Fall  
Go on and fall apart,  
Fall into these arms of mine  
And I'll catch you  
Every time you Fall  
Go on and lose it all  
Every doubt,  
Every fear,  
Every worry,  
Every tear,  
I'm right here,  
Baby Fall.**

**Forget about the world tonight,  
All that's wrong and all that's right  
Lay your head on my shoulder,  
And let it fade away  
And if you want to let go,  
Baby it's okay,**

**To Fall  
Go on and fall apart,  
Fall into these arms of mine,  
And I'll catch you  
Every time you Fall  
Go on and lose it all  
Every doubt,  
Every fear,  
Every worry,  
Every tear,  
I'm right here,  
Baby Fall.**

**Hold on  
Hold on  
Hold on to me.**

**Fall.  
Go on and fall apart,  
Fall into these arms of mine,  
And I'll catch you,  
Every time you Fall,  
Go on and lose it all,  
Every doubt,  
Every fear,  
Every worry,  
Every tear,  
I'm right here,  
Baby Fall.**

**(Clay Walker)**

I put the guitar down, hoping that he liked it as much as I had enjoyed playing it for him.

I saw the tears well up in his eyes, and I opened my arms to him. "Fall into these arms of mine, and I'll catch you."

He smiled slightly, and then hurried into my arms.

"I love you so much, Draco."

"I love you so much, too, Harry. I can't explain how much you've come to mean to me."

"And I you. Draco, never let me go."

"I promise."

A kiss sealed my promise.

"Harry, your cousin asked me to tell you something."

"Dudley? I'm going to guess it was a threat."

"No, but your uncle did give us a fair bit of those. Your cousin wanted me to tell you that he's sorry. He didn't know what was happening with you by your uncle's hand, and he was horrified with what was happening, and that he had pushed you around. He seemed sincere."

"I'm not ready to talk to him face to face. I'm afraid of what I'll do if I try. I appreciate that he tried, but I can't face him yet."

"I understand, Harry. I don't know what I would do if I were to see Lucius again. I am not asking you to forgive him. I'm just telling you what he asked me to tell you."

"Draco, have you ever truly been alone?"

His question shocked me. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever been so lonely that you seek out the first person you can for friendship, for someone to talk to. All I wanted was someone to understand when I needed to be left alone, and when I really needed someone to listen. I read so many books back then, and in every novel I read, every hero or heroine had the one friend or person that would sit there and listen, and by the time the hero was done talking, the never felt ashamed, but they felt better, they felt like the other person took away their burden. They didn't take it upon them, only took the weight away. The heroes would feel so much better. I have longed for someone like that for all my life, and I tried to make friends with my cousin. I was young, and at school, people would talk about the fun times that they had with their cousins. I tried, and I was shot down. So, yes I know how it feels to be rejected by a person, and I shouldn't have shot you down. Anyway, I was alone for the longest time, but that was until I met Ron Weasley. He was the perfect person to be the 'sidekick' in my life. But he was worth so much more than that. He was my best friend. Drake, I can't forgive that man, and I don't know how you can be so forgiving of me. But I thank Merlin that you did, because I love you so much. But there are four people that I cannot see myself forgiving, and he is one. I just can't."

I couldn't handle the despair in his voice. "Harry, come here. You don't have to forgive him. I was just passing on a message. I felt it was my duty, since he saved my life."

"Saved your life?"

Crap. "Yes."

"How? What do you mean?"

"Your uncle tried to kill me with a gun."

"HE TRIED TO SHOOT YOU?"

"Yes. And your cousin shoved him out of the way."

"Dudley saved you?"

"Yes. I was surprised."

"Why?"

"He said his father isn't a murderer."

"He's as good as. He killed my innocence and my childhood."

"I know you hate your uncle, but I don't think that Dudley really knows how horrible his father is.

"No one does, until they are forced to watch it from the outside."

"What?"

"I used to idolize my father. I thought that he was the perfect person, but when Severus was trying to teach me Occulmency, I saw one of his memories. They were in school, and Severus was sitting under a tree. My father and his friends came along and started to provoke him. When Severus started to retaliate, my father hung him upside-down and threatened to 'take Snivellus' trousers off', were his exact words. I never knew if he did, but I had the perfect view of my father brutally destroyed after that day. It was painful, and I couldn't look Severus Snape in the eyes after that. I still can't."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"It's alright. It really wasn't my fault, but I couldn't handle the thought that my perfect father wasn't all that perfect. I've come to accept it, but it just made me sad that he tormented someone so badly for next to no reason."

I couldn't think of anything to say.

Harry smiled slightly. "But that's not my problem. But I was wondering something, Draco."

"What's that?"

"How many glamours are you wearing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You kept the chain scars hidden from me, even when I was healing you. What else are you hiding?"

"I'm not wearing any glamours."

"Yes you are." Harry stared at me, and I stared back, until I finally broke.

"How can you tell?"

"There's always something off when you move in certain ways. Your glamour charms aren't the strongest they can be. I took me a while to figure out what was wrong. Please show me, Draco."

I sighed. "Alright." I copied Harry's movement from with Sev, but I stayed facing him. I removed my shirt, and dropped both it and the glamours.

Harry sucked in his breath. "Who gave you these?"

He was tracing the scars on my chest. I hated myself for answering his question, even before I said the answer. "You."

I saw the question, and then the shock in Harry's eyes as he remembered. "Sectumspempra."

"Yes."

Harry closed his eyes and mumbled so low that I had to strain to hear him. "I'm so sorry, Draco."

"I was about to use an Unforgivable on you."

Harry continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I had no idea what that curse did, and if I did, I would have never used it! I am so sorry! I almost killed you, and all that blood! It was terrible! I'm so sorry, Drake! How could you have forgiven me after that? That day was terrible, and I regret it so much! I'm so sorry!"

"HARRY!"

His head snapped up.

"I was about to use an UNFORGIVABLE on you. In a weird way, you saved me."

"What?"

"I would have gone to Azkaban for using the Cruciatus on you. You saved me from that fate. I should have known better than to try, though. You always were the better duelist." My attempt at humour was unappreciated.

"But I could have killed you!"

I grabbed his face and kissed him. "But you didn't. Harry, you have to move on. I have."

"Aren't you being a little hypocritical? Why do you hide the scars, if you've moved on?"

"I hid them _for _you, not _from_ you, damnit! I knew you would blame yourself,"

"Rightfully."

Now I ignored him. "And so I hide them. I didn't want you to feel guilty, not because I'm ashamed of them. They're a part of me, and now they tell the greatest love story there ever was." Even though he was probably still mad, I wrapped my arms around him. "I don't want to hurt you."

He melted. "I know, Drake, I know. It just hurts to know that I've hurt you so many times."

"I've hurt you just as much."

"I know, but you have scars from it."

"Sometimes outward scars matter the least."

We were silent.

"You're right. I'll stop hiding my scars. They are a part of me, just like you said."

"I won't hide mine either." We were silent again as Harry dropped his glamours too. Then something occurred to me.

"Harry, you know when I, um, left, uh, after you told me about my-my father's hand in your ... abuse?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"You said you never contemplated suicide before. But you told Seamus and me that you tried twenty-one times?"

Harry sighed. "I lied, Draco. I was hurt that day, and I wanted to make you feel worse. I am so sorry that I did that. It wasn't right of me, but I was so hurt that I wanted you to feel the same pain I did. It's stupid to want that for someone you love, but I did, and I don't know why, and please don't be mad! Please don't-"

I kissed him.

"Harry, I'm not mad, simply curious, and a bit sad. I don't like that you tried to make me feel worse, but it's only expected. I was just wondering why you told two different stories."

"I'm so sorry, Draco."

"I forgive you. Can we please move past the apologies? Everything between you and me is forgiven, correct? I don't want the reminders of my past, and I'm sure you don't either."

"You're right. From today on, there will be no more apologies from either of us about our past."

"Good." I kissed him again. "I love you so much, Harry."

"I love you too, so much more."

"It seems like a lifetime ago when you proposed to me, you know. It's only been seven months, but I feel like I've loved you for so much longer."

"I feel the same."

"I know this is a sore subject," I felt Harry tense, "but I was wondering when we were going to get our wedding plans finished, and set a date for it."

Harry relaxed and smiled. "I've finished the wedding plans, Drake. You just need to make a guest list. I've done everything else. Here." He pulled a long piece of parchment from his pocket.

I unrolled it and looked. Everything looked perfect. This was my ideal wedding. How did Harry know? "Why all white?"

"I thought you would like it. The guests will all be wearing white, but you and I will be wearing black."

"It's perfect! I love it!"

Harry quickly smiled before it disappeared off his face. "Are you sure? You're not just saying that because you want to make me feel better, right?"

"No! I love them! Harry, you've designed my perfect wedding. I love it!"

Harry's face relaxed into relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Come on! Let's go make invitations!"

"You're very hyper all the sudden, you know that?"

"So? I should be hyper! I'm getting married to the best man in the world! Why wouldn't I be excited?"

"You're right. I am _very_ amazing."

I groaned playfully. "I've just inflated your ego again, haven't I?"

Harry smiled. "You know you love me."

"Of course I do! Your ego, however, not so in love with that."

Harry stuck his bottom lip out and pouted.

"Careful there. Those might get stuck there. Or, they could be attacked." I held up my promise and 'attacked' Harry's lips. I sucked on his bottom lip, and we both moaned in pleasure. This was fantastic.

We broke apart for air. "Guest list can wait. Bedroom, now."

Harry smiled and gladly dragged me into our bedroom.

Two hours later, we were back downstairs, handwriting our invitations. Harry was done significantly before I was. He only wrote out three invitations; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the Finnegans, and Neville.

I finished mine up. We were going to have a very small wedding. I knew Harry was glad of this, and I was too. I only invited the closest of my Slytherin housemates, Blaise and Gabe included.

There was a knock. Harry stood. "I'll get it. The wards don't recognize who it is."

I began to panic. What if it was a follower of my father? "Then how did they get here?"

"Someone who knows where we are must have told them. Stay here."

I nodded, even though I wanted to go with Harry. I took out my wand and prepared to rush to Harry's side at the first sign of trouble.

There was quiet conversation, and then Harry reappeared. "Draco, you have a visitor."

I cocked my head to the side. "Who?"

Then I heard the voice I hoped for a long time that I could hear again. I heard his voice. "Me, Draco."

I rushed up into his open arms.

***

When I heard the knock on the door, I was terrified. The wards wouldn't let anyone in, unless they were told of the location of their own free will. So who had told, and to whom? Who was I going to find at my door?

But it wasn't me I was afraid for. It was my Draco. I saw how terrified he was too, and I immediately put on a strong face. He was still healing from his torture, and I wouldn't allow myself to be weak right now.

"Stay here."

Draco nodded, and I walked to the door.

"Hello?"

"Hi. I was told Draco was living here?"

"May I ask who you are?"

"I have no harmful intentions. Here." The man held out his wand to me. "I believe you were an Auror, no? You can check me for any other wands or weaponry."

I did a simple check for any more wands, silently and wandlessly, and it turned out negative. "That won't be necessary." To give another wizard your wand when it is not required is the ultimate show of respect in our world. "So why are you here?"

"I wanted to see Draco again. I have not seen him in a long time."

"Alright. But I can tell that you are wearing glamours. Fair warning, as soon as you step through this doorway, they will be removed." For all who are not keyed into the wards, at least.

"I understand."

"As will any other enchantments."

"Okay."

I led him towards Draco, and heard him gasp when the glamours were taken off. I didn't bother to turn around when I knew him glamours were off. My first stupid move.

"Draco, you have a visitor." Merlin, I sounded like he was in a hospital.

"Who?"

The voice was changed when he replied, and I recognized him instantly, just from his voice. "Me, Draco."

Draco rushed by me, into his open arms. "I've missed you!" I couldn't stop the tide of jealousy at their close contact. Draco is mine!

I forced the jealousy down when I remembered that they hadn't seen each other in a long time, judging by their reactions.

"I haf missed you too, Draco."

"How have you been?"

"Better. Harry saved me."

"Ah, yes, the famous Harry Potter." Was I the only one who caught the teasing, unimpressed tone in his declaration. "Vhy are you living vilth him?"

"Oh! I haven't told you yet! Harry and I are getting married! He is my fiancé!"

"Is he now?" Again, I believe I was the only one who caught the double meaning. This time, it was a challenge. I didn't like where this was going. "I vas Draco's boyfriend for a long time. I miss him all zee time."

It was time to set the boundaries. "Yes, I love Draco very much, and I'm never going to let him go." I held open my arms slightly. Draco didn't get the hint, but he did. My second mistake. I blushed and shook my head. "I'll leave you two alone. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do." My third mistake.

I walked out of the room, and only then did I let my tears fall. Draco had rejected me for Victor Krum.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N Here's chapter 31! There are a couple ways that I could end this story. I think that the end is coming up after all..... Hmmmmm..... The idea has merits... Me gusta (It is pleasing to me) Sorry, I really like the Spanish language. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, and review! I'm not going to put an ultimatum here, because I don't like it when people do that, so why should I do it? That, ladies and gentlemen, would make me a hypocrite, and I've had enough of those lately to last me a lifetime. It doesn't help that she was my best friend, but I'm not going to rant to you guys.

Oh! And once again a huge THANK YOU to Emmettsgirl4ever for helping me out! She is AMAZING!

So, once again, please enjoy the story!

I felt so dirty. I had taken Draco just under an hour ago. I went upstairs and took a long, burning shower. I still felt dirty. I shrugged and decided to live with it. I slowly walked downstairs. I couldn't help the startled squeak the burst from my lips. I should have looked away, but I couldn't. I felt my heart, and my world, shatter and collapse in and around me. Krum and my Draco were attached at the lips, and it looked like they had been going at it for hours. I went numb. I went over to them and grabbed Draco's hand. I opened it and placed my wedding ring in his palm. "I'm done." I walked away.

"Harry! I-"

"I don't want to hear it." I ran to my rooms and warded them against everyone but me. Even the House Elves were locked out.

I fell on my bed and closed my eyes.

They immediately shot open again. Krum's satisfied smirk was engraved on the front of my eyes.

I took special care to keep my eyes open as I cried.

***

I felt something cold being pushed into my hand. I thought it was Krum, but then the startled gasp from earlier registered. That wasn't a gasp of pleasure, and Krum didn't make that noise. That left-crap.

I broke away from Krum to see Harry. I deserved to burn in the deepest pits of Hell for what I saw that I did to him.

He was emotionless. I had broken my Harry so completely that he no longer had emotions. The ever-present spark was gone. I deserved to burn.

"I'm done."

"Harry! I-"

He cut me off. "I don't want to hear it." He ran to his rooms. I let him go. He needed to calm down before I could apologize.

"Why did you do that?"

"You are mine, Draco! He vas in zee way!"

"Harry means more to me than you!"

"You vere enjoying it before that low-life came in."

"Harry isn't a low-life! He is my life!"

Victor laughed. "Not anymore."

I punched him in the face. "Get out!"

"This isn't over, Draco. Ve vere meant to be togezer."

"No, we aren't. Not after the way you ended it."

"Vhatever. I'll see you around."

"No you won't."

"Don't hold your breath."

I shook my head and pointed towards the door. "Out."

As soon as I heard the door close, I fell to the floor. Every memory of every time I told Harry I was different, that I wouldn't cheat, came flying back to me. I am a failure. I went back on every promise. I am pathetic. I couldn't believe that I allowed Victor to seduce me like that. His kisses were nothing like the loving touches of Harry. I clenched my eyes in pain. I wanted to end Harry's suffering. I saw only on way to do that.

I had to leave him.

But then the rational part of my brain kicked in. Harry had almost killed himself last time I left, and plus, leaving would make it even worse. I would be twisting the knife I had so easily thrown into his back.

I Flooed Blaise.

"Blaise!"

"Hey Draco. What's up?"

"I've screwed up. I've screwed up big time."

"What did you do?"

"Can you come over here?"

"Sure. Get out of the way. I'll be there in a second."

"Thank you." I stood and cleared the way for Blaise.

He stepped through and whistled "Nice place."

"That's not important right now, Blaise."

"I know. Now, what happened?"

"Victor came by."

"Krum?"

I nodded.

"Draco! You didn't!"

I hung my head. "I did. Harry saw us."

"How far did you go?"

"I was sitting on his lap, and we were... uh, snogging."

"Not just kissing?"

"No."

"Merlin."

I nodded. "Harry's up in his room right now. He's probably warded it against everyone but him. I'm so afraid he's going to try to kill himself again."

"Again?"

"Harry has a long past. What you saw at the Manor was nothing."

"Save it for another time. Harry can tell me later. For now, I have something else to take care of."

"What do you mean?"

"This." Blaise turned towards me and punched me in the face. I fell like a rock to the ground.

"What was that for?"

"I told you that if you hurt Harry, I would make you pay. Well, you hurt him, and now you're paying. I'm going to go talk to him, and you better have a damned good apology when he comes back down."

"Thank you, Blaise."

"This isn't for you."

I hung my head and let the blood flow from my broken nose, right next to the tears from my ashamed heart.

***

I had calmed myself down enough to make sure I wouldn't cry. He wasn't worth it.

I heard a knock at my door. At least the git was smart enough to knock and not try to open it.

"Harry, please open up."

"Go away Draco." I still couldn't feel anything as I spoke.

"I'm not Draco. It's Blaise. I want to talk to you."

"Where is he?"

"Currently, he's on the floor downstairs, nursing a broken nose."

I wanted to laugh at that, but it only came out as a hiccup. "Hold on."

I flicked my wrist to modify the wards to let Blaise in. I really wanted company right now. Blaise opened the door and stepped in.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well, I just found out that my best friend's ex boyfriend was my boyfriend's old boyfriend, and that, apparently, they still like each other. I come downstairs from a shower to see them tangled together, and I can't tell what body part belongs to who. Other than that, I'm absolutely perfect."

"I'm so sorry, Harry. Draco shouldn't have done that."

"No, he shouldn't have, but there's no use in looking back and wishing you could change the past. Will you do me a favour?"

"Sure, Harry. Whatever you need."

"Thank you. Will you tell him that the wedding is off?"

Blaise looked shocked at my request, but he nodded in consent.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. But, if it doesn't stir up too many bad memories, may I ask why you are going so far with this?"

"I'm done. I've had enough of the betrayals, enough of the fights, and the hurt, and the lies. He said he would never leave, cheat, or lie. He's done all three, and I was stupid enough to take him back the first time, but I won't do it again. I'm done."

"This isn't the first time this has happened?"

"No. I was telling Draco about a certain aspect of my abuse, and he ran. He told me later it was because his father was paying everyone off to look the other way about my abuse. But he still ran. He ran, even after he promised he wouldn't. Now he's cheated and lied. He's completed the trio, and I'm done putting up with it. He and Krum can have a bloody happy life together now."

Blaise pulled me into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I cannot believe Draco did that to you."

"It's not your fault, Blaise."

We were silent for a while, until I started to cry again.

"I don't want to love him anymore."

Blaise cried silently along with me.


	32. The End

A/N Okay guys! (I start a lot of chapters like that, don't I?) This is the last chapter of Somewhere Between Living and Loving. I've appreciated your reviews so much! They have uplifted me and inspired me as a writer. And once again, a large thank you to the three that helped me with my 'MightyGryffindor' problem. Thanks to Silverstargirl, Makurayami Ookami, and an even bigger thank you to Emmettsgirl4ever! These three have been my most consistent reviewers, and I would lack the motivation to finish this story without them. This is the first multi-chaptered story I've written and finished. I usually get too bored/run out of ideas to finish them. That also happened here, but this time I had Emmettsgirl4ever to help me out. She gave me the amazing idea of one of Draco's ex's coming back and Harry getting jealous. I changed it to what happened, but she ignited the spark, so, for the final time, THANK YOU! To Emmettsgirl! You should all head over to her page and read her stories. She has a Twilight FF and an Hr/D that really isn't bad, even though I usually don't like that pairing. So, without further ado, I present to you the final chapter of Somewhere Between Living and Loving. Enjoy!

"Harry, I am so sorry. I know that this isn't my fault, but I wish more than anything that I could take this pain away from you. If there is anything that you want me to do, just let me know, and I will."

I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

We were silent while I thought.

And then it came to me. "I'm going to leave."

"What?"

"I'm going to live in the Muggle world, maybe in some other country. I'll start a new life. I can have the one thing I have always wanted. I can be anonymous!"

"If that's what you really want, I'll help you out. But will you cut yourself off completely?"

"No. If you don't mind, I think I'll stay in touch with you."

"I would like that. I don't want to worry about you out there in a new world all alone."

I smiled. "It won't be the first time that I adjusted without anyone's help, but I'm glad that I have you Blaise."

"You're welcome. I have a cousin who makes Muggle IDs and other things they need. Would you like me to get those for you?"

"Yes please. I'll owl you to let you know where I'm going to move."

"Alright. I'm going to miss seeing you, but I know this is for the best."

"I know. I'm going to miss you too. You can always come visit me, though. You would just have to make sure that you're alone."

"I'd like that."

"When I leave, will you look after him until he's back on his feet?"

"He doesn't deserve your compassion."

"I know, but I can't help but love him. I don't want him to become too desperate and go where I tried to."

Blaise nodded. "Fine, I will. I'm going to go check on Draco and pass on your message."

"Don't tell him that I'm leaving. I don't want him to know yet."

"I won't. Goodbye Harry. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye. Until I leave, these doors will always let you in."

Blaise nodded and shut the door.

I fell down into my bed, smiling. For the first time, I would take control of my life, and it would be completely mine. Life was good.

I still felt the wounds, but they were quickly becoming scars. I looked down at my body. The glamours were quickly put back into place. If promises didn't mean anything to him, why should they to me?

***

Blaise came back down the stairs. I had cleaned the blood from the floor around me and from my face. I jumped up and ran to Blaise.

"What did he say?"

"He made a decision."

I waited. "Well! What was it?"

"The wedding is off."

"What?"

"He said that you left, lied, and cheated, and that he was done putting up with it. He said that he didn't want to love you anymore."

I fell to the ground. I felt nothing. I thought I would be overcome with sadness, grief, anger, something! But I felt nothing. I had accepted that Harry wasn't going to be mine. I guess I knew I was running on borrowed time. Harry and I were enemies. I should have known that he couldn't love me.

I allowed myself to think that way for a time, but then I saw the reality of the situation. Harry did love me. I was the one who ruined it, and it was nothing to do with love. It was the betrayal that ruined our relationship. My betrayal.

Now the sadness came. I began to cry. "Blaise! Please tell him that I am so sorry! I love him so much! I want him back! I need him. Please let him know, Blaise."

"No." The man was cold as stone. "You deserve this. I don't know what made you decide it would be a good idea to kiss your ex-boyfriend in your fiancé's house, but you've done the sowing; now you can do the reaping. Harry is a wonderful person, and he doesn't deserve to be hurt anymore."

"You don't!"

"Yes, I fancy Harry. I have since he came to Slytherin's Manor. But unlike you, I am not going to be the first to approach him about it. I will be there as his friend, and if he decides to take it further, I will allow him. But I will not try to make him love me while he is still hurt over you. And if, by some miracle, he does come back to you, I will still be his best friend. He is an amazing person."

"So I am Paris after all."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Were you quoting Shakespeare?"

"So what if I was?"

"I didn't know you had even read that."

"So?"

"Nothing. But you're not Paris. There is no love triangle. Not yet. Harry doesn't love me."

"You sound okay with that?"

"I am, because I just want him to be happy, and no matter how much I want him, his kiss, his love, if he is happy, then I am too. Which is why I am not going to try to make him love me. It would only cause him more problems. And we both know that that's the last thing he needs right now."

I hung my head. "You're right. Would you at least tell him I'm sorry?"

Blaise nodded. We were silent for a long time.

Blaise finally spoke. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know. We were talking with each other, and the next thing I know, I'm on his lap, and we're kissing when Harry walks in."

"So you don't remember being in control of your actions?"

"No. Why? Doesn't lust do that to people?" I couldn't even make myself sound curious. I was ashamed of what I had done.

"Interesting. No, lust only makes you want things more. You will still remember whatever you did. There is something else going on here. Stand up. I want to test something."

I walked over to Blaise. "What's going on?"

"I want to see if you were influenced by anything. I saw the way Harry needed you back at the Manor, and how much you wanted him at the same time. I can't believe that you would just throw that away to be with the man who broke your heart. Come here." Blaise took out his wand and mumbled something under his breath while he ran his wand across my lips.

"What was that?"

"Shhh!" Words began to float in front of the two of us. The letters kept moving around so that I couldn't tell what word was what.

Finally, they settled. It was a list of everything that was on my lips. There was Krum's saliva, mine, and my blood. But the most surprising on the list was the last one.

Felix Felicis.

Krum drank the liquid luck potion before he had come here. He wanted me the most, so I was blindly driven into his arms. It had nothing to do with me. I stood there in shock. I didn't even register Blaise leaving and coming back. I didn't notice that there were suddenly three people in the room, instead of two.

"Harry, look at this. This is a list of everything that was on Draco's lips. I know that it will be painful to look at the first couple, so just look at the last one."

"No. I need to face this. What do you want me to see? Yes I already know that he snogged Krum. So? Blood?" Harry turned to Blaise.

"I punched him when I learned what had happened."

Harry smirked. He reminded me of myself when I was still a brat. He turned back to the list. "Felix Felicis? So Draco got his ex back? That's what he used the potion for? It was a waste. He could have just told me that he didn't really love me and left to be with Krum. He didn't need to get lucky to-"

"Harry, Draco didn't drink that."

"Then who, oh. So Draco didn't cheat?"

"No. I did cheat. I just wasn't aware of what I was doing, and that I was under the influence of a potion. I really didn't want to do that. I want to love you, and only you, Harry. Krum means nothing to me."

And he didn't anymore.

"Thank you Draco." Harry came to me and kissed me. "But this still doesn't change anything. I need time to sort things out. My heart is still telling me that you betrayed me, even though my brain knows that you didn't want to."

"Harry, please don't."

"I'm sorry Draco. I'm leaving."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet. I'm going to live alone for a while."

My heart broke even more. "Will you come back?"

"I don't know, Draco. I really don't know."

"I am so sorry! Please stay with me!"

Harry kissed me again. "Sometimes 'sorry' isn't enough." He turned and flicked his wrist. All of his belongings flew down to him and hovered at his side. He shrunk them and put them in his pocket. "Goodbye, Draco." He walked away.

I was seeing way too much of Harry's back lately.

I cried all through the night.

Blaise stayed with me and comforted me through the night.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, I asked Blaise, "Why are you doing this?"

Blaise's voice was a soft whisper. "Harry asked me to."

"Oh." I know I should have been angry at him for leaving, I couldn't help but smile. Harry still cared. He still loved me!

"Don't even think about going near him again. Let him come back."

"I know. I've hurt him enough. I miss him like hell, and he hasn't even been gone a day. Blaise, I'm pathetic. I have gotten so used to him always being there, always giving me advice, or just holding my hand. I depend on him so much. Love had made me pathetic. I should give up on it forever."

"Draco! Don't say that. Love has made you strong, and it has changed you for the better. The Hogwarts Draco would have scoffed at even looking at Harry. He loved you too, Draco. This is your fault too."

"I know." I cried again.

"Draco-"

"Hold on," I gasped out. I ran to the bathroom and threw up.

Ten minutes later, I was done, and I felt perfectly fine.

It couldn't be. I performed the spell.

I fell to the floor in shock.

I was pregnant.

**The end**


	33. Final AN

A/N To answer some widely received questions in reviews:

Yes, that it the end.

No, there is no epilogue.

Yes, I am slightly insane.

Yes, I think it was cruel to end there too, and I did it.

Yes, this is in the angst category, so of course there is a lot of angst.

Of course there will be a sequel. I couldn't even end their story like that on myself. It's going to go on.

I 'feel the need to pull Harry and Draco apart' because they're not going to meet one day and suddenly be all lovey-dovey to each other. Life doesn't work that way. They were enemies for too long to suddenly become perfect lovers. Also, people get angry and make stupid decisions. Harry's decision to leave wasn't thought out, and there will be consequences. Harry made a stupid decision, and, even though he was forced, Draco did too. Also, as for earlier in the story, Draco made the stupid decision to leave. I really don't plan out too far in advance what is going to happen. It just does. I'll plan one thing, and then it always ends up different than what I had planned, so I've learned to just go with the flow.

For example, I had four endings planned out. One was that Harry and Draco were going to get married and live happily ever after. I didn't like that one very much because it was too cliché and overdone. Second was that either Harry or Draco were going to die, leaving the other alone. Third was that either Harry or Draco was going to die, leaving the other alone, and having the other kill themselves. If Harry was to kill himself, it would be rather gruesome, since he can't easily be killed. So, that one was discarded very quickly. My fourth ending was that Draco would turn out to be still evil after all, using his closeness to Harry to get him to his father. This idea, oddly, attracted me the most. I could see how everything would play out, and how it would end.

But then I would write a love scene, and I couldn't do it anymore. Then Emmettsgirl4ever gave me the Krum idea, indirectly, and the ending finally fell into place.

So quit complaining about the ending. Harry and Draco's story isn't finished yet.

I would like to thank all of the people who reviewed in these last two chapters. I was unsure about how they would go over, so here are the (in my opinion) positive reviewers for chapters 31 and 32: arenha, George2Bob1, yAol-tEnShl1412, Silverstargirl (your review made me laugh), and of course, the ever brilliant Emmettsgirl4ever.

If I didn't mention you, and you reviewed, it's probably because your review annoyed me, made me mad, or I just plain forgot. (And if I forgot you, I apologize profusely).

As for the sequel, I will be starting it soon. School gets out in three days, starting this Monday. For those of you not in the US, I get out Wednesday the 17th. I can't give you what day that is for you all, because it would take too long, and I don't know all of the time changes. So look for the first chapter around the 22nd. I would work on it this weekend, but I have final exams to study for, and I don't have time for Fanfiction, no matter how much I wish I did.

So, I'll see you all in about a week. Thank you.


	34. AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys,

I don't know how many of my readers have followed this story or whatever, but I have posted a revised first chapter of this story under the same name, only it says REVISION OF and then the title. I would appreciate it if you guys all read it again and give me your feedback, since I feel I have grown a lot as a writer in the years that have passed since being active on this site. Also, I may throw some changes of events into the story, so there's even more incentive for you all to read it. Thanks again for your time!

-Larka's Blessing


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